The Britannia Mine Museum, together with the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC and the Squamish River Watershed Society, is hosting a BC Rivers Day Celebration this Sunday, September 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event will include exhibits and presentations from a number of local interest groups and biologists, along with limited tours of the nearby EPCOR water treatment plant.
Editor's Note: Aside from this one-day event, the Britannia Mine Museum (located on the Sea-to-Sky Highway near Squamish) is a site worth seeing because it's probably one of the better mining museums of its kind simply because it's built right in the historic mine. It's a hands-on experience and believe me, the underground tour is a real as it gets.
More about World Rivers Day and Britannia Mine
The Britannia Mine was first opened in 1904 and throughout its 70-year history, mining activities had an environmental impact on Howe Sound due to acid rock drainage, which occurs naturally when rainwater reacts with oxygen and exposed minerals.
Starting 2001 the Province of BC worked with stakeholders including the Britannia Mine Museum with the goal of establishing a water treatment plant to deal with the community's acid rock drainage. The end result was a public private partnership with EPCOR to build and operate a water treatment plant.
The EPCOR Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant uses natural materials to filter minerals and neutralize surface water runoff collected from the area. The water is collected at the plant and is first treated with a mixture of lime and water. The alkaline lime neutralizes the acidic water, quickly raising the pH level which causes dissolved metals to naturally come out of the solution and precipitate as tiny particles. The water is then fed into a large 'clarifier' tank where a customized, manmade polymer is added. This electro-statically attracts the metal particles, forming clumps that sink through their own weight, creating a dense sludge at the bottom of the tank. This is removed, and the clean water flows into Howe Sound.
Located 10 minutes south of Squamish on the picturesque Sea-to-Sky highway, the Britannia Mine Museum was recently transformed from a mining legacy site into an internationally recognized destination. The museum features the new Beaty-Lundin Visitor Centre, the Britannia A-Z heritage hall, the historic 20-storey Mill building, the underground mine train and outdoor gold panning.
More information on Britannia Mine Museum's environmental story is available at http://www.britanniaminemuseum.ca/history/environment.html.
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