Citizens Against Mining
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The Jurgensen Aggregate Company based in Cincinnati (of which Enon Sand & Gravel is a subsidiary) is working to get the necessary permits to begin operations on a 400+ acre limestone quarry in Mad River Township. The company plans to dig a 140 foot deep hole reducing the limestone to rubble through blasting. Six days a week as many as 60 trucks will thunder past the houses on Fairfield Pike, coming and going to Route 68 (Springfield-Yellow Springs Road) hauling rocks.
Jurgensen’s proposed limestone quarry is a threat to the water supply for many residents of Mad River Township as most people outside the village of Enon obtain their water through private wells.
The quarry will need to pump 700,000 gallons of water each day to maintain the dry environment necessary to mine the rock. Dewatering is the official name of such action. When the pumping begins, it creates a drawdown of the water table around the quarry. Depending on how close someone lives to the quarry, the negative effects can include:
- Dewatering of wells in close proximity to the quarry boundaries
2. Changes in the pattern of groundwater movement
3. Changes the quantity of groundwater flowing through the karstic underground system
- Increases the turbidity of the groundwater to wells and springs
(turbidity-cloudy, opaque or thick with suspended matter)
5. Contamination of the lower aquifer with bacteria and nitrates
6. Increases in daily discharge to Mud Run increasing flood risks
For more in-depth information about the adverse effects this mine will bring to the residents of Mad River Township, please visit the Citizens Against Mining website (citizensagainstmining.org).
The above information, gleaned from the February 1, 2018 report by Brent Huntsman of the Terran Corporation, can be found under the “ODNR” tab on the CAM website. There is a wealth of information to be found on this website. Under the “MAPS” tab, check out where your house sits in the projected cone of depression and read your home’s well report filed with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Please educate yourself concerning this very real threat to our water.
*Brent Huntsman of the Terran Corporation states, “An incomplete and inconsistent conceptualization of the Silurian aquifer flow regime at the proposed quarry pits was used for model development, resulting in inaccurate projections of the dewatering cone of depression.” Other geologists have concurred and believe the cone of depression is probably much greater with even greater detriments.
For more in depth information on this threat to our water, click here.