Where did all the water go

Abstract

The Friends of the Cheat (FOC) is a 501 (c) 3 watershed organization in northern West Virginia. FOC formed in 1994 to respond to the impact of acid mine drainage on tributary streams and the mainstem of the Cheat River. Since then, millions of dollars in water monitoring, assessment and treatment has been invested within the watershed. In 2006, FOC received an EPA Targeted Watershed Grant to address 27 miles of impaired water on Muddy Creek, a major contributor of acid mine drainage to the Cheat River. Over the past eighteen months, monitoring has taken place on Muddy Creek and the data collected has brought to light some interesting results that otherwise would have went unnoticed without continual sampling. Water monitoring consisted of walking streams with GPS unit to determine locations of all acid mine drainage sources. Data collected while monitoring also included the pH, conductivity, and flow rates, which were then mapped using ArcGIS to produce a spatial picture of water quality in the Muddy Creek drainage area. With this database and the GIS map, FOC consulted with WVU geologist Dr. Joe Donovan, who has conducted research on mine pools in the Freeport coal seam. After reviewing the data we had collected, Donovan realized that several surrounding mines were not discharging where they should be according to existing mine maps. In addition, he noticed an unusually high flow coming from an abandoned deep mine, which contributes about twenty percent of the acid load on Muddy Creek. This proposed presentation will show field research and technical analysis that is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2008. Research will involve geo-spatial assessment of mine maps, continued monitoring, investigation into mining permits as well as the local history. In addition, drilling may occur to help in determining mine pool locations. The utilization of water monitoring, GIS mapping, and assessment will have a direct influence on the level of restoration this project achieves for the Cheat watershed. The determination of the source of this discharge from the abandoned deep mine could determine how hundreds of thousands of dollars in reclamation expense will be funded.