The River should be Clean !

by Kazu

It is difficult to raise rice crops in the northern part of Hokkaido Island. Dairy farming and veggie cultivation are the farmers choice in that area. Some pioneers who developed their farming land and found it tough to make ends meet, explored to Brasil, Paraguay and Hawaii.   

In the cold regions, the leaves and plants on the ground could not be solved enough and make the soil fertile. The ground tends to be barren to raise rice and wheat under the cold weather. 

Forestry was flourish until decades ago but the cheaper limber from overseas let the industry of forestry out of the competition and the public authority to take care of the forest on this island shrunk so much.

 

Deep into the Forest in Winter !

by Kazu

My business jaunt to Utanobori, Kitami Esashi was for one of the regular sampling and checking up the water quality, particularly the level of acid and heavy metal. In winter, we have to take snowcat to reach the check points in the depth of the forest.   

So-called "Passive treatment " of the wastewater from the shaft of the abolished mine needs extensive field to make an artificial marsh that contains slaked lime for the cost-effective treatment and plants such as reed that absorb heavy metal from the wastewater.

Just after abolishing the mine, acidic water damaged the rice crops and fishery in Okhotsk Sea. The wastewater should be treated continuously forever. It costs a hectic amount of money. Developing mines are lucrative if it is successful but taking care of the wastewater is also expensive.  

 

Abolished Mine Wastwater in Mid Winter !

by Kazu

The wastewater from the abolished mine tends to be warmer than the water flow of river like hot spring but it also tends to contain poisonous arsenic, so can't be used for hot spring spa without analysis.  

The artificial marsh that treated the acidic wastewater from the abolished mine was covered with snow and the plants like reed could not absorb heavy metal in them. The slaked lime worked out to neutralize the acidic wastewater in winter. 

Even after abolishing the mine, the wastewater continues to flow out of the shaft of the mine forever. Yes, even after our deaths in this world, it will continue to flow out.  The responsibility to keep the water flow of the public area is so heavy.

 

Massive Brown Bears are living there !

by Kazu

The snowcat in the depth of the forest of Utanoboru, Kitami Esashi reached the wastewater sampling point on our way to the base camp cottage at the foot of the mountain.  

We found a marking on the trunk of spruce made by a huge brown bear. Considering the height and the time the marking was made, the size of the brown bear must be huge because it was made before the snowfall and the depth of the snow around the tree was about two meters.  

The length of the claws of the brown bear must be longer than my fingers. The depth of the marking on the trunk was one or two centimeters. The claws were sharper than the edge of the driver, I thought. 

 

Snowcat moving on !

by Kazu

Have you ever heard of "Passive Treatment " of the wastewater from the abolished mine of gold, silver and copper? Without expensive treatment facilities like a factory, some artificial marsh that contains slaked limestone can neutralize and clean up the acid wastewater from the abolished mine. 

The cost to run the factory to treat the acidic wastewater is so expensive with the manning, chemical, sampling and checking operation that only conglomerate companies can continue to run the system. 

In order to build and set the artificial marsh to treat the wastewater from the abolished mines, extensive fields are necessary to reduce the acidic level of the water and neutralize. Normally, the mines developed decades ago tend to be found in the depth of the valleys and mountains. It may be tough to find the flat field for the artificial marsh to treat the wastewater in the mountains.

 

Carbonated Sodium Bicarbonate Spring in Utanobori !

by Kazu

I visited Utanobori Green Park in Kitami Esashi Town for the second time of my business jaunt. The design of the foyer seemed to be similar to that of Horohsin Hot Spring Spa in Numata Town. 

The sheet glasses facing the woods was so huge to make the most of the natural scenery. Different from my business jaunt to the same abolished mine in Utanobori, we had to take a snowcat with caterpillars to reach the sampling point of the wastewater.    

In total, eight persons can take the machine but the room in the snowcat was comparatively narrow and being shaken in the automobile may be tough for delicate figures.

 

Utanobori Green Park in Kitami Esashi !

by Kazu

On our way to Utanobori in Kitami Esashi, we dropped by Nayoro City to have lunch in the buckwheat noodle restaurant "Benihana" which meant "Scarlet Flower" in Japanese. We had to purchase some food for supper in the isolated hot spring spa and hotel "Green Park Utanobori".

It was my second business jaunt to the place in order to check up the waste water from the abolished mine. Once a mine was developed, even after the mine ran out of the copper, silver and gold, the waste water continues to flow out of the mine forever.

Most of the waste water tend to be acidic, so that should be neutralized with slaked lime continuously. Early in the morning, I was searching for an appropriate route for jogging. The trail to the upper side of the mountain was closed with heavy snow. I had to jog around the parking lot of the hotel to avoid brown bear attack.