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The Wingfield Pines AMD Project
Solutions to a Cleaner Chartiers Creek
Work is now complete on this exciting Allegheny Land Trust Project. To check on progress, please see the Special Projects - AMD Treatment System page.
Wingfield Pines has one of eight untreated Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) sites along Chartiers Creek. Allegheny Land Trust is working in partnership with other local conservation organizations (PA Department of Environmental Protection, and Hedin Environmental Engineering) to build a passive AMD treatment system at Wingfield Pines. This passive treatment system filters metals out of the mine drainage before it enters the creek using natural and sustainable technology. This project is the first of many AMD remediation projects being considered in the Chartiers Creek Watershed.

Wingfield AMD
How the Passive Treatment System Works
There is a large amount of ferrous iron dissolved in the mine drainage at Wingfield Pines. When the ferrous iron comes in contact with the air, it turns to rust (ferric/iron oxide). Each year, 43 tons of iron oxide are deposited into Chartiers Creek from the AMD discharge at Wingfield Pines. Our plan is to capture these deposits in a series of settling ponds and wetlands before they reach the creek.
The Wingfield Pines AMD remediation plan (designed with assistance fromm Hedin Environmental) uses passive treatment methods to remove this metal from the water. The drainage flows freely through a series of four pie-shaped settling ponds that capture the iron sediment. An existing wetland filters out the last of this sediment using native plants. The design also features observation paths that give students, scientists, and visitors a close-up view of how this system treats AMD...without getting their feet wet!
