Passive water treatment is often sought as a component of long-term mine closure scenarios, as it promotes relatively self-sustaining beneficial conditions for impacted water management at low maintenance and operational costs. However, owing to the biogeochemical nature of these technologies, a site-specific phased approach is necessary for successful implementation. Huckleberry Mine was evaluated for the viability of passive water treatment technologies to address potential future acid rock drainage (ARD)-impacted waters containing constituents such as aluminum and copper. Natural wetlands, seepage collection ponds, and ARD-impacted areas were assessed using genetic microbial community profiling, paired with traditional growth-based microbial characterization and quantification. This information was evaluated in the context of water chemistry, treatment objectives, and biogeochemical processes to develop a conceptual treatment train to semi-passively treat water. A phased program was then developed to determine if each step of the treatment train could address its goals individually, or if it would be best implemented to reduce costs associated with an equivalent active water treatment step.Non UBCUnreviewedOthe
