Environmental question

[OTBSkinloss]

Anyone know of any wetlands flora and fauna, that can live at 8K ft, in Colorado that mitigate copper, flowing from a hundred year old silver mine?

[AM Radio]

What is your vagina, Alex?

[rockhound]

Anyone know of any wetlands flora and fauna, that can live at 8K ft, in Colorado that mitigate copper, flowing from a hundred year old silver mine?

You have copper and silver at your disposal and you're worried about mitigation?

Must be a water thing...

Got a picture?

[OTBSkinloss]

Got a picture?

Not that I'm allowed to post. Dude hired us to clean up some ponds. Water flowes outta the mine and into the bright turquoise ponds. Just brimming with copper, and dropping out a white sludge. He wants a non-mechanical solution. Money isn't an object. He paid 14 mil for the house, has eaisly over 200 mil in artwork, inside. Just askin. Lotsa environmental types here that may know of a weird solution.

[jerman]

OTB my wife is a botanist. I will shoot her an email. If she does not know, she may know someone else to ask.

[mimbresman]

You might look into using horsetails (http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicweeds/weed_information/weed.php?id=10)Equisetum arvense (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=EQAR) .

Also, sweet vernalgrass, Anthoxanthum odoratum (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ANOD).

Another, seep monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MIGU)

[PutAwayWet]

I have a friend in Denver that does that very thing. I sent him an email, and if he can help I'll put you two in touch.

Edit: If he's got that much cash, he should fund a research project with CSM and pay some poor sap of a grad student to clean it up on the cheap to earn a master's.

[rockhound]

Not that I'm allowed to post. Dude hired us to clean up some ponds. Water flowes outta the mine and into the bright turquoise ponds. Just brimming with copper, and dropping out a white sludge. He wants a non-mechanical solution. Money isn't an object. He paid 14 mil for the house, has eaisly over 200 mil in artwork, inside. Just askin. Lotsa environmental types here that may know of a weird solution.

Eh, stick some anodes and cathodes in the water and collect the precipitate there...

I hope the guy didn't assume any liablities assocated with the mines...:eek:

[rockyrider]

Eh, stick some anodes and cathodes in the water and collect the precipitate there...Or stick the anode and cathode in the dirt near the water and collect a lot of worms for fishing

[Scott G.]

First thought would be Bamboo.......but could bringing in a non-native Colorado species to mitigate the copper actually cause more damage if it spreads and out competes the native flora?

Like mimbresman mentioned Horsetails are fit to do the job, but could spread like wildfire, take over the area. Even though it may be classed as a "native" does not mean that it won't take over.

I would hit up the Native Plant Society folks there in CO for some info:
http://www.conps.org/horticulture_and_restoration.html

It does sound like a lot more needs to be done than just planting though if a mine site is involved:
http://www.appliedeco.com/Projects/FlambeauCopperMine.pdf

[PutAwayWet]

OTB - I sent you a PM with some stuff.

[OTBSkinloss]

Thanks PAW, and everyone. The plot just thickened today. The guy doesn't have rights to the water. Plus he has only about 3/4 of an acre, to make a wetland. Waiting on the water lawyers, but he may have to re-divert it back to the original flow, and this becomes a mute point.
Fun part is, that I've learned more about wetlands and the critters and plants therein, in the last week. I'm really starting to love this yob, main.
Thanks again.

[mutantvan]

Chances are, whatever you introduce to solve your environmental problems is going to screw up what's left of the natural system still hanging on by a fingernail. There are no easy fixes in the environment.

[OTBSkinloss]

Uh, yeah. Whatever, I guess. :rolleyes:

[PutAwayWet]

If his lawyers are smart, and he gets a good plan from a licensed engineering firm, the state may just let him keep his pond due to the fact he's 'paying' for cleanup of the mine drainage, so long as the outlet of the pond dumps back into the natural stream path...

[Scott G.]

There are no easy fixes in the environment.

Except in the case of a large asteroid strike into the Earth....that sure seemed to work well in our favor a couple million years ago;)

[OTBSkinloss]

If his lawyers are smart, and he gets a good plan from a licensed engineering firm, the state may just let him keep his pond due to the fact he's 'paying' for cleanup of the mine drainage, so long as the outlet of the pond dumps back into the natural stream path...

Except that his neighbor does have rights to the water. He has rights to more water than is flowing(common thing here), but hasn't pressed thi issue. He who files first drinks last.

[PutAwayWet]

Water rights are worth more than the land they come with out there. I remember that well when I lived in CO...