News

The risks of living near drilling pads are well documented. Radioactive fracking waste processed at off-site landfills extends those concerns to other communities.  

Strange things have been happening around Rostraver. One of Jack Kruell’s neighbors died of Ewing sarcoma. Another, Kruell said, is ill and “on the way out.” Overnight, the plants in his backyard died and sometimes when he mows his lawn, a silvery dust floats through the air. 

Private support from the Colcom Foundation for West Virginia University and the West Virginia Water Research Institute is providing $3.5 million in financial resources to help bolster environmental sustainability and water research efforts at WVU and throughout the region.

The Colcom Foundation, a longtime benefactor of the WVU School of Medicine, is based in Pittsburgh, and focuses on enacting positive environmental change with a focus on aquatic, riparian and terrestrial habitats. Now, the organization is providing additional funds for the West Virginia Water Research Institute that will add a new element to Three Rivers Quest, a water quality monitoring and reporting program supported by Colcom Foundation for more than a decade with upwards of $3.3 million in grant funding.

First published in the 2023 Buckhannon River Watershed Association Newsletter.

Registration is open for both  WVWRI Virtual Seminar Series and Three Rivers QUEST Virtual Roundtable Series!

Land and Water Reclamation | 12/21/23 10:00-11:00 am

A new study by WVU and West Virginia Water Research Institute (WVWRI) researchers utilizes 3RQ data to analyze how management changes have impacted water quality in the Monongahela River Basin. The study focuses on twelve sites on the Monongahela River and its major tributaries that, as part of the 3RQ program, have at least monthly water quality data dating back to 2009. 

Meet Paul Ziemkiewicz, PhD. Paul grew up in western Pennsylvania. As a child, he dreamed of cleaning up his local rivers and streams, which were devoid of life due to acid mine drainage. Today, as the Director of Water Research at West Virginia University (WVU), Paul is living out that dream.

Abandoned coal mines cause various types of water pollution. Acid mine drainage is the most prevalent. Abandoned coal mines leave pits of highly acidic water that contain large amounts of heavy minerals. Over time, infiltrated groundwater and surface water from precipitation fill these pits to the brim. When the water spills over, harmful chemicals are carried into the surrounding water and soil. These chemicals can hurt humans, plants, and animals.

Article written for WVU Foundation News by Cassie Rice

Thousands of acres of abandoned mining land in West Virginia will get new uses out of part of a large-scale development project Coalfield Development Corporation is leading with support from West Virginia University. The project is among those to receive funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration as part of the “Build Back Better Regional Challenge Grant.” 

The objective of the comprehensive project, called Appalachian Climate Technology Now, is to create a more sustainable future in areas previously reliant on coal. 

WVU researchers are studying plots of switchgrass and miscanthus planted at a former surface mine site in Upshur County to determine whether the plants are more effective at capturing and storing carbon in soil than other grasses.