General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Major north/south Ohio river bridge closed at Cincinnati, I-71 and I-75 corridor. [View all]ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)Not up & down for 10s of miles, but for about a mile.
A 4% solution of potash has a pH of 13.
And pH drops inversely exponentially with dilution.
So, it takes quite a lot of water to get the pH below 8.
Because of the density differences, there'd be strata of concentration until diffusion kicks in.
Some eddy effects from the flow of the river would help mixing, though. It would just be the damage for a few hundred feet down river.
What I would do is neutralize with a dilute solution of acetic acid. (Essentially, white vinegar.). Potassium acetate is a salt that has very little to no immediate danger to life & health, even to aquatic life. And handling the dilute acetic is not a highly hazardous job for those doing it.
But, you are correct that dilution is the solution, ultimately. I'd rather be diluting a potassium salt than KOH.