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Publications and source records attributed to K. S. Wilson.
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The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, plans widespread reclamation of abandoned coal mines in the Raccoon Creek basin in southeastern Ohio. Throughout Raccoon Creek basin, chemical, biological, and suspended-sediment data were collected from July 1984 through September 1986. Chemical and biological data collected at 17 sites indicate that the East Branch, Brushy Creek, Hewett Fork, and Little Raccoon Creek subbasins, including Flint Run, are affected by drainage from abandoned coal mines. In these basins, median pH values ranged from 2.6 to 5.1, median acidity values ranged from 20 to 1,040 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as CaCo 3 , and median alkalinity values ranged from 0 to 4 mg/L as CaCo 3 . Biological data indicate that these basins do not support diverse populations because of degraded water systems. Suspended-sediment yields of 70.7 tons per square mile per year at the headwaters of Raccoon Creek and 54.5 tons per square mile per year near the month of Raccoon Creek indicate that cumulative sedimentation from erosion of abandoned-mine lands is not excessive in the basin.
A study was done by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Village of Richwood, Ohio, to determine directions of ground-water flow, ground-water-level fluctuations, and water quality in the northeastern part of Union County. The topography of the study area generally is featureless, and the land surfaces slopes gently eastward from 985 to 925 feet above sea level. Glacial deposits up to 48 feet thick cover the carbonate-bedrock aquifer. Three municipal wells and an adjoining abandoned landfill are located in an area previously excavated for clay deposits. An agricultural supply company is adjacent to the well field. Ground water flows from west to east with local variation to the northeast and southeast because of the influence of Fulton Creek. Richwood Lake occupies an abandoned sand-and-gravel quarry. Water-level fluctuations indicate that the and gravel deposits beneath the lake may be hydraulically connected to the bedrock aquifer. Water-quality data collected from 14 wells and Richwood Lake indicate that a hard to very hard calcium bicarbonate type water is characteristic of the study area. Dissolved solids ranged from 200 to 720 mg/L (Milligrams per liter) throughout the study area. Potassium ranged from 1.3 to 15 mg/L, with a median concentration of 2.0 mg/L. Concentration of 10 and 15 mg/L at one municipal well were five to eight times greater than the median concentration. Total organic carbon, ammonia, and organic nitrogen were present at every site. Concentrations of ammonia above 1 mg/L as nitrogen were found in water from two municipal wells and one domestic well. Total organic carbon was detected at a municipal well, a landfill well, and a domestic well at concentrations above 5 mg/L. Ground-water quality is similar throughout the study area except in the vicinity of the municipal well field, where water from one well had elevated concentrations of ammonia, dissolved manganese, dissolved chloride, dissolved, sodium, and total organic carbon.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, plans to reclaim abandoned surface mines in the Raccoon Creek watershed in southern Ohio. Historic water-quality data collected between 1975 and 1983 were complied and analyzed in terms of eight selected mine-drainage characteristics to develop a data base for individual subbasin reclamation projects. Areas of mine drainage affecting Raccoon Creek basin, the study Sandy Run basin, the Hewett Fork basin, and the Little raccoon Creek basin. Surface-water-quality samples were collected from a 41-site network from November 1 through November 3, 1983, Results of the sampling reaffirmed that the major sources of mine drainage to Raccoon Creek are in the Little Raccoon Creek basin, and the Hewett Fork basin. However, water quality at the mouth of Sandy Run indicated that it is not a source of mine drainage to Raccoon Creek. Buffer Run, Goose Run, an unnamed tributary to Little Raccoon Creek, Mulga Run, and Sugar Run were the main sources of mine drainage sampled in the Little Raccoon Creek basin. All sites sampled in the East Branch Raccoon Creek basin were affected by mine drainage. This information was used to prepare a work plan for additional data collection before, during, and after reclamation. The data will be used to define the effectiveness of reclamation effects in the basin.
Base-flow data from 779 sites in Ohio 's coal region were analyzed statistically to relate land use to selected water-quality characteristics. Sites were classified into five categories: unmined (100 percent unmined land), abandoned (50 percent or more abandoned surface mines), reclaimed (50 percent or more reclaimed surface mines), deep-mined (50 percent or more underground mines), and mixed (all others). Specific conductance , pH, alkalinity, acidity, sulfate, dissolved iron, total iron, and total manganese in streams draining basins in the coal region were the eight characteristics selected for analysis. (USGS)