Date of Graduation

2003

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

Committee Chair

J. Steven Kite

Committee Chair

J. Steven Kite

Abstract

A preliminary stream network assessment of impacts due to surface mining and reclamation was conducted through completion of this study. Four study areas, located approximately 7 to 10 km west of Morgantown, West Virginia, are within a 2.5 km radius of each other, and therefore share the same climate and geology. Two data sets were created: pre-mining and post-reclamation. The first data set was generated using premining topography, as shown on permit maps of each mined area, and Lubowe’s (1964) rules for mapping stream channel networks using topographic maps. Data for the second set were gathered through field mapping and measuring of the drainage networks at each area. The pre-mining and post-reclamation data sets differed within a given permit area for individual watersheds. Drainage density decreased by an average of 48.8 percent between the pre-mining and post-reclamation drainage networks. Bifurcation ratios at each reclaimed area increased, indicating that disconnectivity of the drainage networks also increased after completion of reclamation. Bifurcation ratios calculated from the post reclamation data set were undefined for some individual watersheds within a given study area, because, frequently, second order or higher streams were eliminated during mining and reclamation. Field observations revealed additional impacts that were common near channel truncations, including severe drainage development and backfill slumps. These failures are likely to be chronic problems, which is a concern to landowners, who are left to repair these property damages using their own resources once the mining company has been released of its bond.

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