green water in lima (Jefferson: maintenance, live, safety)

[nuke08dog]

I've been working here in Ohio for almost a year and everytime I'm driving down I-75 I see two huge pits on either side and one of them has green water in the bottom of it year round. At first it was just odd but it's gotten to the point where I have to know why that water is green. That's the whole reason I signed up for this site. I've asked locals and they don't seem to know why or care. I really shouldn't care but its starting to eat at me everytime I drive by it. WHY IS IT GREEN?

[Ashley111]

Don't know why, however, green water does seem like it would be problem!!! Maybe algae? Hopefully nothing harmful. I always wonder about the refinery, every once in awhile there is a story about the safety measures they take & I hope everything they say is true but you never know for sure I guess unless you work there. I know this didn't help much but I did want to let you know that someone cares

[nuke08dog]

Yeah I work there. I work in refineries all over the united states and actually as far as the maintenance of the equipment and cleanliness of the units this is one of the better ones. I know people around Lima worry about the refinery causing cancer. This is technicaly true but so does any other refinery for that matter. It's like anything else really.

[000000]

a saint patrick's day celebration THAT WENT TOO FAR!

[Buzzweiser]

Its algae or at least thats what the people who own it told us several years ago. I have a friend who lives in Lima that wanted to fish in there. Apparently its a fairly stagnant water hole and the algae grows so bad in it that it stays green pretty much year round. Seems to me if thats the case it would be a mosquito nightmare around there.

[MaryBeth2]

My question is why is it there?

[Buzzweiser]

When they built I-75 many years ago they dug there for materials for the over passes.(Thats why there are ponds at many over passes all along I-75). They found aggregates there when they did and decided to mine them out. The gravel company took out what they could and what you see is what's left of that.

[MaryBeth2]

Ah, I see. So the water is not suppose to be there like an overflow or something.

[woodworkingmenace]

Any standing water will get algae in it, and if its left alone, will eventually take over the entire pond! What you have to have is a lot of aggitation in order to not have the algae, as any standing water, is a prime candidate for the growth.

Algae is in the air...Thats why you can find it anywhere there is a puddle or any place with water. Its spores that just travel the airways, looking to settle down in some moisture and it is prolific.

You can get 'grass eating carp' to take care of ponds and other places that algae grows, but, you have to have a special permit or be a farmer with a pond in order to obtain these special fish from the hatcheries.

Buckeye lake, in Jefferson County used to be full of algae, but they released these fish years ago in the lake and they have taken care of the algae and kept it under control.

There are different kinds of algae. One is the 'string algae' that grows underwater and in long strings. The other is bloom algae, where the algae is as smll as a pencil head, and there are millions of them, and they actually look like a carpet on top of the water.

My Buddy often takes this type of algae and puts it in his fish tanks, as it gives oxygen into the water, and the fish often end up eating it also, for food! As long as thiere is algae in the water, the water is being oxegenated, and wont be stagnant.

May the LORD Bless each of you.

I wish you well...

Jesse

[MaryBeth2]

WWM, your buddy puts it in his fish tanks? Doesn't that make them look ugly?