Water-Quality Assessment and Environmental Impact Minimization for Highway Construction in a Miningimpacted Watershed: The Beaver Creek Drainage

Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Blackwater River just north of Canaan Valley in northeastern West Virginia, runs parallel to the proposed alignment of a major four-lane highway called Appalachian Corridor H. Beaver Creek and many of its major tributaries are characterized by low pH, little alkalinity, and high levels of dissolved metals due to the geochemical characteristics of the soil's parent material and continuing impacts from past coal mining. During the planning phase of this road project, we identified two major environmental concerns: (1) our ability to predict and manage water-quality impairments that will likely result from the cuts and fills of new material, and (2) the legacy effects of mine refuse from historic coal mines. In the latter case, although many refuse sites are located outside the proposed highway's alignment, drainage from these sites will be intercepted by the highway's water-control structures. We (West Virginia University [WVU]) have collaborated with the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) to minimize construction-related impacts to Beaver Creek's water quality. More specifically, we have evaluated strategies by which water collection and conveyance structures can be integrated with passive water-remediation processes during the highway's design and construction. In March 2000, we began monitoring water quality in the Beaver Creek drainage. We measured physical, chemical, and biological indicators of water quality and present these data here to serve as a baseline for future comparisons. In general, the water in Beaver Creek was acidic with an average pH of 5.1 in its headwaters and 6.1 above its confluence with the Blackwater River. The water also carried little or no alkalinity. The untreated water seeping from mine-waste piles was highly acidic, with an average pH of 3.0, carried high levels of dissolved sulfate and iron, and featured excess acid-production capacity. After we identified the main sources of water-quality impairment—the locations of mine-waste piles and acidic seeps—we formulated preliminary recommendations for minimizing the impacts of highway construction on the Creek's water quality. For example, we recommended the implementation of acid-base accounting on the overburden that would be disturbed during construction. We also suggested special material-handling procedures. Based on our preliminary water-quality data, we recommended a series of passive treatment processes that could be incorporated into the road's design, construction, and operation. Future treatment decisions will be informed by our growing dataset. Further, because many sources of water-quality impairment are located within the basin but beyond the road's proposed alignment, efforts must be made to engage diverse stakeholders to leverage support for protecting and restoring the Beaver Creek watershed.