Iron Miners
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:20 am

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 5 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Wadesville
PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:37 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:00 pm
Posts: 245
Location: From Schuylkill County, PA living in Phoenix, AZ
I stopped by Wadesville today. Here's the photos:
http://www.ironminers.com/mineforum/vie ... 180#105180

I noticed they had all of the trees down along the abandoned section of Wade Road so I'm guessing they will be expanding the pit soon.

Also, there was an operating pumphouse behind the park. Is that used to keep the water out of the pit?

M.T.

_________________
View More of My Photos At:

http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?userid=10145

http://mst145.rrpicturearchives.net/


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:33 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:37 pm
Posts: 38
Location: Schuylkill County
Yea, the pumphouse is used at keep the minepool below the pit floor. they run the pumps more in the summer because they have a deal with Exelon where wadesville pumps out more water in the summer(which is pumped into the schuylkill river), and the Exelon nuclear powerplant in Limerick is allowed to withdraw more water out of the Schuylkill river for their cooling towers. The goverment will only allow limerick to withdraw so much water from the river to cool their cores, so by pumping more water out of the minepool (which ends up in the river) the goverment allows limerick to take that much more water out of the river to cool their reactors.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 6:01 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:40 am
Posts: 81
Location: Ranshaw
cropfall wrote:
The goverment will only allow limerick to withdraw so much water from the river to cool their cores, so by pumping more water out of the minepool (which ends up in the river) the goverment allows limerick to take that much more water out of the river to cool their reactors.


Thats damn interesting. Never heard anything like that before.

D.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:02 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:00 pm
Posts: 245
Location: From Schuylkill County, PA living in Phoenix, AZ
Decision due in December on Exelon's use of water from Schuylkill County mine




By Darrin Youker
Reading Eagle


7/21/2008



- The owners of the Limerick generating station should know in December whether they can continue with a project to use water from a Schuylkill County mine for cooling towers at their nuclear reactor.

For the past five years, Exelon Nuclear has pumped water from a mine near Pottsville into the Schuylkill to add volume to the river for use during the company's operations. Exelon now wants to make the project permanent.

Officials with the Delaware River Basin Commission, which has the final say on the project, are expected to vote on the measure in December.

Exelon is adding water to the river between April and November, said Katharine O'Hara, a commissioners spokeswoman.

Currently, Exelon uses the Schuylkill River and water pumped from the Delaware River in its cooling towers. The project could reduce the plant's operating cost because of the expense of pumping water from the Delaware River, said David Petersen, plant spokesman.

If the company's project is approved, the average Berks County resident will likely see little change in the river because Exelon has been adding water to the river for some time now, Petersen said.

"They've been seeing it for the past five years," he said of people living along the river.

Exelon wants to add water to the Schuylkill from the Wadesville Mine Pool, and supplemental volume from the Still Creek Reservoir, which is Tamaqua's water source. By adding mine water, and getting the plant's water temperature restrictions eased, Exelon could generate electricity more cheaply, Petersen said.

The restrictions bar the plant from pulling water from the Schuylkill during periods of low flow, or when the river temperature exceeds 59 degrees, O'Hara said.

Exelon wants to use Schuylkill River water regardless of its temperature, and during low flow, O'Hara said.

Experts with the commission are reviewing five years worth of data supplied by Exelon and have not yet formed an opinion on the project, O'Hara said. Final approval on the project rests with a five-member board, she said.

"We wanted to have multiple years of data on the project to show the effect on the quality of water in the Schuylkill River," she said.

Exelon uses about 17.5 million gallons of water a day, or 24,300 gallons a minute, and the mine pool can supply about 40 percent of the company's needs, according to company documents. On average, Exelon added 6.7 million gallons of water a day from the mine.

Under the company's plan, Exelon would pump water from the mine, owned by the Reading Anthracite Company, between April and November and then let the pool recharge the remainder of the year.

The mine pool water has not had a negative impact on the Schuylkill River's water quality, according to company documents. Under an agreement worked out with the commission, allowing Exelon to run this five-year project, the company is contributing money for Schuylkill River restoration projects. Last year Exelon awarded $250,275 in grants, including money for stream restoration projects in Berks County.

Bill Reichert, president of the Schuylkill River Headwaters Association, said he supports the project.

Unlike many mine discharges in Schuylkill County, which pour water laden with metals into the river, the Wadesville Mine Pool is clean, Reichert said.

"There has been virtually no impact on the river," he said.

•Contact reporter Darrin Youker at 610-371-5032 or dyouker@readingeagle.com.

_________________
View More of My Photos At:

http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?userid=10145

http://mst145.rrpicturearchives.net/


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:41 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:37 pm
Posts: 38
Location: Schuylkill County
heres a link to report that gives you alot of background info on the whole thing.

http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/wadesville/05index.htm

by the way, if mining were ever to stop at wadesville and the pumping would stop, the water would actually come out at a diffrent place. it would overflow out of the saint clair shaft and be piped into mill creek in Saint Clair. that was a issue back when the rebuilt 61 because they leave a drainage pipe under rt 61for the water to drain away incase the mine ever shut down.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 5 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 98 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group