PARENT SESSION
IP03 - Biomonitoring
Chair: Allen, Joel1, 1 PO Box 310559, Denton, TX
Co-chair: Lazorchak, Jim2, 2 US EPA, Cincinnati, OH
2:10 PM to 5:30 PM - Sunday, 17 November 2002
Room Room 150 G
(IP21) An Integrative Assessment of AMD Influences in the Powell River: A Subwatershed Based Approach.
Currie, Rebecca*,1,2, Cherry, Donald2, Soucek, David3, Schmidt, Travis, Trent, G.4, 1 Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia, USA2 Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA3 Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois4 David Miller and Associates, Inc., Vienna, Virginia
ABSTRACT- An integrative assessment was conducted from 1994-2002 to determine the effects of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) on the Powell River. Due to the vast size of the Powell River watershed, assessments were conducted on a subwatershed scale and included streams and tributaries in the Ely Creek, Pucketts Creek, Straight Creek (Cox, Jones, Reed and Summer Creeks), Looney Creek, Pigeon Creek, Crab Orchard, Jordans Branch, Wells Branch, Bundy Creek and North Fork Powell River subwatersheds. Bioassessment included acute water column tests, chronic sediment tests, metals analyses, in situ Asian clam tests, habitat assessments and benthic macroinvertebrates surveys. Final endpoint values were formulated into an ecotoxicological rating (ETR) that ranked each site based on specific parameters and provided a score of 100 to 0 that was graded from A to F. The ETR prioritized the streams based on the extent of environmental impact for remediation by the US Army Corp of Engineers and the Virginia Department of Mined Land Reclamation. Sites given a D or F ranking were considered failing and in need of remediation. The lowest located subwatershed, Ely Creek, was determined to be the most severe contributor of AMD with 15 of 20 sampled sites generating failing ETRs. The Pucketts Creek area was the second most impacted as 10 of 21 sites had failing ETRs, followed by Straight Creek with 17 of 41 sites failing. AMD influences were most severe in the lower sections of the Powell River watershed and appeared less severe to minimal in the upper reaches.
Key words: AMD, subwatersheds, toxicity, ecotoxicological rating