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At least 883 records · Page 49Linked to original sources
USGS1992

Streamflow, water-quality, and biological data on streams in an area of longwall coal mining, southern Ohio, water years 1987-89

This report presents data on the first 3 years of a 5-year study of the effects of longwall coal mining on six streams near a mining complex in Meigs, Gallia, and Vinton Counties, Ohio. Longwall coal mining is method of underground mining in which 75 to 90 percent of the coal is removed; conventional methods, such as room-and-pillar mining, remove only about 50 percent of the coal. Use of the longwall method is expected to increase in Ohio. Collapse or subsidence of the overburden and land surface occurs immediately after the removal of the coal. Such collapse can disrupt surface drainage and the recharge of ground water. The data include streamflow, water quality, and the abundance and diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish. The data were collected from eight sites on six streams from July 1987 through September 1989. The drainage areas of these sites range from 2.04 to 80.8 square miles and include the major drainages of the area being mined. Total precipitation in 1987 and 1988 in the study area was 78 and 81 percent, respectively, of the annual average (from 1939 to 1989) of 39.59 inches. The total precipitation in 1989 was 135 percent of the annual average. Streams at six of the eight sites were dry for parts of the first 2 years. Specific conductance ranged from 180 to 3,500 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius, pH ranged from 6.9 to 8.0, and the concentration of total recoverable iron ranged from 80 to 1,800 micrograms per liter. Macroinvertebrate and fish populations indicate a warmwater-habitat rating of fair to good according to Ohio Environmental Protection Agency standards. This information will help provide a data base from which the effects of longwall mining on streams in southern Ohio can be evaluated. Correlations of surface-water quality and quantity with longwall mining were not attempted in this study.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1993

Water-quality and biological data for selected streams, lakes, and wells in the High Point Lake watershed, Guilford County, North Carolina, 1988-89

Water and bottom-sediment samples were collected at 26 sites in the 65-square-mile High Point Lake watershed area of Guilford County, North Carolina, from December 1988 through December 1989. Sampling locations included 10 stream sites, 8 lake sites, and 8 ground-water sites. Generally, six steady-flow samples were collected at each stream site and three storm samples were collected at five sites. Four lake samples and eight ground-water samples also were collected. Chemical analyses of stream and lake sediments and particle-size analyses of lake sediments were performed once during the study. Most stream and lake samples were analyzed for field characteristics, nutrients, major ions, trace elements, total organic carbon, and chemical-oxygen demand. Analyses were performed to detect concentrations of 149 selected organic compounds, including acid and base/neutral extractable and volatile constituents and carbamate, chlorophenoxy acid, triazine, organochlorine, and organophosphorus pesticides and herbicides. Selected lake samples were analyzed for all constituents listed in the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1986, including Giardia, Legionella, radiochemicals, asbestos, and viruses. Various chromatograms from organic analyses were submitted to computerized library searches. The results of these and all other analyses presented in this report are in tabular form.

North Carolina↗
USGS2003

Hydrological, chemical, and biological characteristics of a prairie pothole wetland complex under highly variable climate conditions: The Cottonwood Lake area, east-central North Dakota

Geologic deposits in the Cottonwood Lake area consist largely of silty, clayey glacial till that contains numerous fractures and small, randomly distributed sand and gravel deposits. The sand deposits can have a substantial effect on groundwater flow between wetlands in the area and can cause some to drain while others have relatively stable inflow. Direct precipitation and runoff from snowmelt are the primary sources of water to the wetlands and evaporation accounts for the largest loss of water from the wetlands. The wetlands in the study area have a range of functions with respect to their interaction with ground water. Some of the seasonal wetlands recharge ground water and others recharge ground water and receive ground-water discharge. The semipermanent wetlands receive ground-water discharge much of the time, but some have reversals of flow between them and the groundwater system nearly every year. Ground-water flow toward the wetlands is caused by recharge in the uplands and by focused recharge near the wetland perimeters. Flow from the semipermanent wetlands to the ground-water system occurs when the wetland water levels are higher than the contiguous water table, resulting in bank storage, and when evapotranspiration directly from the ground-water system causes seepage around the wetland perimeters. Substantial climate variability during the study period caused the wetlands to range from being completely dry to having such high water levels that some of the wetlands merged to become large lakes.

North Dakota↗