PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND HYDROLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF COAL-MINING AREAS IN MISSOURI U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations 80-67 4 61 • 5 • V3 4 c . 1 50272 · 101 REPORT DOCUMENTATION REPORT NO. 3. Recipient's Accession No. IL.... , 2. PAGE 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND HYDROLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF Auq ust 1980 COAL-MINING AR EAS IN MISSOURI 6. 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Rept. No. ,]Prrv F Vr~i 11 r~nri .lames 1:1 Bar:k.s__ _ USGS LWRl 80-67 Performing Organization Name 9. and Address 10. Project/Task/Work Unit N o. u.s. Geological Survey, Water Resources Di visi on 1400 Independence Road Ma il Stop 200 11, Contract(C) or Grant(G) No. Roll a, Missouri 65401 (C) (G) 12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address 13. T ype of Re port & Period Covered u. s. Geolog i ca l Survey, Water Resources Divi sion 1400 Independence Road Mail Stop 200 Fi na 1 Ro lla, Mi ssouri 65401 14. 15. Supplementary N otes 16. Abstract (Limit: 200 words) Hydrologic i nformation for the north-central and western coa l-mining regions of Missouri i s needed to define t he hydrol og ic sys tem in these areas of major historic and planned coal development . This report describes the phys ical . setting, cl imate , coal-mi ni ng practi ces, general hydrologic system, and the current (1980) hydro l og ic data base i n these two coal -mining regions. Streamf low in both min ing regions is poorly sustai ned . Stream water qual i ty generally varies with location and the magnitude of coal-mining activity in a watershed. Streams in non coal-mini ng areas general ly have dissolved- solids concentrations less than 400 milligrams per liter. Acid-mi ne drainage has seriously affected some streams by red ucing the pH to less than 4.0 and increas i ng the dissolved -solids concentrations to greater than 1,000 mi l ligrams per liter. Thi s has resulted in fish ki l ls in some instances . Ground-water movement is impeded both l aterally and verti cally in both mi ning regions, especially in western Missouri, because of the low hydraulic conduc tivity of the rocks of Pennsylvanian age . The quality o f ground water vari es widely depending on location and depth . Ground water common ly contai ns hi gh concentrations of iron and su l fate, and dissolved-solids conce ntrations generally are greater than 1,000 mil ligrams per liter. 17. Document Ana lysis a . Descriptors *Coa l min ing, Water quality, Surface water, Ground water, Missouri . b. ldentlfie~ /()pen· Ended Terms Phys i cal env ironment, Hydro l ogic characteristics . c. COSATI Field/Group 18. Availability Statement 19. Security Class (This Report) 21. No. of Pages No restriction on distribution. UNCLASSI FIED 33 20. Security Class (This Page) 22. Price UNCLASS IFI ED (See ANSI-Z39.18) See Instructions on Reverse OPTIONAL FORM 272 (4-77) (Formerly NTIS-35) Department of Commerce 7 ... UR .. :S' . ' .~.)J 1:, •" ~ I fY, lA ~2244 LIBRARY COPY PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND HYDROLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF COAL-MINING AREAS IN MISSOURI E. Vaill and James H. Barks By Jerry • U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations 80-67 Ro 11 a , Missouri 1980 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CECIL D. ANDRUS, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY H. William Menard, Director For additional information write to : District Chief U.S. Geological Survey 1400 Independence Road Mail Stop 200 Rolla, Missouri 65401 / CONTENTS Page Conversion factors------------------------------------------------ III Abstract---------------------------------------------------------- 1 Introduction------------------------------------------------------ 1 Physical setting-------------------------------------------------- 7 Geology and physiography------------------------------------- 7 Structural geology-------------------------------------- 8 Drainage patterns-------------------------------- ------- 9 Soi ls-------------------------------------------------------- 9 Land use----------------------------------------------------- 14 Climate----------------------------------------------------------- 16 Coal-mining practices--------------------------------------------- 16 Hydrology--------------------------------------------------------- 19 Surface water------------------------------------------------ 19 Ground water------------------------------------------------- 25 Plans for future data collection and analysis--------------------- 28 Summary----------------------------------------------------------- 29 Selected references----------------------------------------------- 30 I ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figures 1-4 Maps showing location of: 1 • Coal and lignite fields in the United States---------- 3 2. Coal resources and coal-mining areas in Missouri------ 4 3. Major coal-mining regions in Missouri----------------- 5 4. Major physiographic divisions of Missouri------------- 10 Figure 5. Diagram showing stratigraphy of the principal coal beds of Missouri------------------------------------ 11 6. Map showing major soil and vegetation types in coal-mining regions of Missouri--------------------- 13 Figures 7-9 Diagrams showing conventional: 7. Contour-stripping method------------------------------ 17 8. Furrow-stripping method------------------------------- 18 9. 11 Y11 -stripping method---------------------------------- 20 Figure 10. Frequency curves of 7-day annual minimum flows for streams in the different physiographic divisions of Missouri----------------------------------------- 21 11. Map sho~1ing locations of water ... quality sampling stations on East Fork Little Chariton River in relation to coal-mining activity-------------------------------- 24 12. Map showing location of water-quality sampling station on Cedar Creek in relation to coal-mining activity-- 26 TABLES Table 1. Total acreages for major crops in 1978 by county--------- 15 2. Water-quality characteristics of selected streams in the north-central Missouri coal-mining region-------------- 23 II CONVERSION FACTORS For those readers who may prefer to use the International System of Units (SI) rather than the inch-pound units, the conversion factors for the terms used in this report are listed below. Multiply inch-pound unit ~ To obtain SI units acre 0.4047 hectare (ha) foot (ft) 0.3048 meter (m) cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832_5 cubic meter per second (m 3/s) gallon per minute (gal/min) 6.31Xl0 cubic meter per second (m3/s) inch (in.) 25.40 mi 11 imeter (mm) micromho (JJmho) 1.000 microsiemens (JJS) mile {mi) 1. 609 kilometer (km) square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer (km2) ton (short) 0.9072 metric ton (t) acre-foot (acre-ft) 0.00123 cubic hectometer (hm3) million gallons per day 0.044 cubic meter per second (m3/s) (MgaJ/d) To convert temperature in oc (Celstus) to °F (Fahrenheit), multiply by 1.8 and add 32. I ,..: III Physical Environment and Hydrologic Characteristics of Coal-Mining Areas in Missouri By Jerry E. Vaill and James H. Barks ABSTRACT Hydrologic information for the north-central and western coal-mining regions of Missouri is needed to define the hydrologic system in these areas of major historic and planned coal development. This report describes the physical setting, climate, coal-mining practices, general hydrologic system, and the current (1980) hydrologie data base in these two coal-mining regions. Streamflow in both mining regions is poorly sustained. Stream water quality generally varies with location and the magnitude of coal-mining activity in a watershed. Streams in non coal-mining areas generally have dissolved-solids concentrations less than 400 milligrams per liter. Acid-mine drainage has seriously affected some streams by reducing the pH to less than 4.0 and increasing the dissolved-solids concentrations to greater than 1,000 milligrams per liter. This has resulted in fish kills in some instances. Ground-water movement is impeded both laterally and vertically in both mining regions, especially in western Missouri, because of the low hydraulic conductivity of the rocks of Pennsylvanian age. The quality of ground water varies widely depending on location and depth. Ground water commonly contains high concentrations of iron and sulfate, and dissolved-solids concentrations generally are greater than 1,000 milligrams per liter. INTRODUCTION This report presents information compiled during the first phase of a project designed to provide general hydrologic information for coal provinces in Missouri. The report contains a discussion of the history of coal mining and coal-mining regulations in Missouri and a description of the physical setting, climate, coal-mining practices, hydrology, and the current (1980) hydrologic data base. The report provides background for the second phase of the study that will include collection of hydrologic data required to increase the data base, and provide the general hydrologic information needed for State and Federal regulatory authorities and mine-permit applicants. 1 The energy crisis of the 197o•s is rapidly increasing the demand for the abundant coal resources of the United States, including those in Missouri. Most of the northwestern part of the State is in the Western Interior Coal Basin (fig. 1). Missouri ranks fifth among the states with coal resources (all coal beds 12 or more in. thick, which can be reasonably assumed to exist) and has an estimated 50 billion tons (Robertson, 1973). Of this, 32 · billion tons have been located by mapping and drilling, and 12.3 billion tons are considered reserves (proven to exist and can be mined with existing technology and under existing