Orange Tint

When I walked through the forest tunnel and seen the orange creek, I was a bit shocked. I looked around at my classmates to if they were as shocked as me and found that they had the same face as me. As I began to explore the area I noticed that the orange tint was everywhere and even a pungent smell. I began to wonder what this substance was and what it was doing to the surrounding environment.

                Joining us on our trip today was Brian Blare, a field research expert. Brian told us that the orange tint in the water is caused by old mines that leak out iron in the water. When the water reaches the outside surface the iron and oxygen react and the orange substance is left behind in deposits. I learn that the water coming out is acidic and causing damage to its surroundings. It is time to perform our pH tests to see just how acidic the water is.

                When I was walking across the 2”x6” board that served as the gateway across the creek to the mine opening, I chuckled because Brian had mentioned of falling into the creek a few times while he was working. Upon reaching the other side of the bridge, it was time to navigate up to the mine through orange mushy areas. We had learned from Brian that these areas could be dangerous as a volunteer of his had sunk down over her head and had come close to drowning. Once I had plotted my way up to the mine opening I then preformed the pH test and the results came back shocking. The acidic level was 4 which is pretty acidic considering no fish or bugs can survive in a pH 3 environment. I immediately began to wonder what was being done to fix this problem and learned from Brian that limestone deposits and “wetland” areas are typical ways of slowly collecting the acid from the water.

                After exploring the area I realized that it is people who are causing this to happen. We are taking advantage of the earth with little or no regards to what happens to it. We are slowly destroying our planet and need to seriously take action before we leave our kids and grandkids in an environment that they have no chance in.