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NONPOINT SOURCE SUCCESS STORY
Installing Limestone Dosers Improved Three Fork Creek
Waterbody Improved
Approximately 9,100 acres of untreated mine pools discharging acid, iron
and aluminum into headwater tributaries left Three Fork Creek discolored
and lifeless. As a result, the stream was added to West Virginia's 1996 Clean Water Act section 303(d) list of
impaired waters list for not meeting the state's water quality standards for pH and metals. In-stream dosing of lime
was implemented in the watershed, which reduced metals, increased pH and improved biological conditions. As a
result, Three Fork Creek was removed from the state's impaired waters list for aluminum in 2014.
Problem
Most of the 103-square-mile Three Fork Creek water-
shed is in West Virginia's Preston and Taylor counties
(Figure 1). The creek discharges into the Tygart Valley
River, which in turn empties into the Monongahela
River.
Extensive underground coal mining within the head-
water tributaries (Birds, Raccoon and Squires creeks)
of Three Fork Creek occurred before the enactment
of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
(SMCRA). This left behind approximately 9,100 acres
of mine pools that continued to discharge acid mine
drainage (AMD) into surface waters. In the Three Fork
Creek watershed, the majority of pre-SMCRA mining
was conducted in the headwaters section in the Upper
Freeport coal seam.
Three Fork Creek (assessment unit WVMT-12-00) was
placed on the state's list of impaired waters in 1996 for
not meeting the water quality standards for metals and
pH. The applicable water quality standards require that
dissolved aluminum must be less than 0.75 milligrams
per liter (mg/L) and pH must not be less than 6.0 nor
greater than 9.0. A total maximum daily load was
approved in 2001 to address the metals and pH impair-
ments in the watershed. In 2004 the West Virginia
Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) determined
that Three Fork Creek was the second highest contribu-
tor of AMD in the Monongahela River basin.
Project Highlights
The Three Fork Creek Watershed Restoration Project
was initiated through a combined effort of the West
Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's
(WVDEP's) Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and
Reclamation, West Virginia University (WVU), and the
r Data sources include 103(d) impaired waters shapefile,'
NHDplus hydrography, WBD HUC12 shapefile, and (
\ World Topographic basemap. I ^~^ [
Impaired Segment (WVMT-12_00)
Birds Creek Watershed
Raccoon Creek Watershed
Squires Creek Watershed
6 Miles
Figure 1. The Three Fork Creek watershed is in
northern West Virginia.
Save the Tygart Watershed
Association. A new cost-effec-
tive approach to treating mul-
tiple discharges was necessary
to achieve the desired water-
shed improvement. Ultimately,
it was determined that in-
stream, active treatment using
lime dosers was the most viable
option for treating the creek.
Construction of the dosers
was initiated in July 2010. Each
system was completed and
actively treating water by April
2011 (Figure 2).
Figure 2. This lime doser was
installed as part of the Three
Fork Creek restoration.
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Dissolved aluminum concentration (mg/L)
Dissolved Aluminum in Three Fork Creek (1 995-201 4)
•
•
•
Wa
•
ter Quality
Standard
;.
0.7 mg/L
•
i
95 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016
Figure 3. Dissolved aluminum levels in the Three Fork
Creek watershed met state standards beginning in 2012.
Figure 4. Raccoon Creek before (inset photo) and after
(main photo) lime dosing was implemented upstream.
In-stream treatment devices require constant mainte-
nance and adjustments because of the dynamic condi-
tions of the individual tributaries. WVDEP conducts
sampling and adjustments of the doser systems twice
per week. Volunteers from Save the Tygart sample the
stream once per week.
Results
A post-construction water quality survey showed
improvements in waters quality as seen in decreases
in acidity and increases in pH and alkalinity (Table 1).
With increases in pH, dissolved aluminum concentra-
tions in Three Fork Creek also decreased (an almost
98 percent decrease in average concentrations in
samples collected throughout the segment), meeting
state standards (Figure 3). Because of these improve-
ments, the 19-mile-long segment of Three Fork Creek
(WVMT-12-00) was delisted for its dissolved aluminum
impairment in 2014.
Table 1. Water quality (values are means) improved
after lime doser installation
Stream
Birds Creek
Birds Creek
Squires Creek
Squires Creek
Raccoon Creek
Raccoon Creek
Three Fork Creek
Three Fork Creek
Dosing
before
after
before
after
before
after
before
after
pH
3.9
6.7
3.4
6.5
4.1
6.0
5.1
7.1
Acidity
(mg/L)
85.1
10.5
101.6
16.9
96.2
9.8
21.9
5.4
Alkalinity
(mg/L)
0.8
18.8
0.8
25.7
1.7
7.8
2.3
19.6
Restoration has led to improved biological conditions,
as shown by increased populations of fish and benthic
macroinvertebrates (including pollution-intolerant
mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies, collectively referred
to as EPT—short for the order names Ephemeroptera,
Plecoptera and Trichoptera). Pre-construction bio-
surveys in the watershed found a limited number of
benthics (eight total taxa and three EPTs) and a single
fish. Post-construction biosurveys in 2012 found posi-
tive benthic diversity (15 total taxa and eight EPTs) and
a dramatic fish response. A total of 1,605 fish were
collected, representing 21 species. Physical conditions
have also improved (Figure 4). The local residents have
noticed; many are taking advantage of the recreational
opportunities now available in the watershed.
Partners and Funding
The restoration of Three Fork Creek was supported
by the collaboration between WVDEP's Abandoned
Mine Lands (AMI) program and the Save the Tygart
Watershed Association. WVDEP's AMI Set-Aside
account is used to fund the costs of operation and
maintenance (O&M) and support monitoring. Capital
construction cost for the dosers was $750,491. Since
completion, O&M costs have totaled $274,440; the
average cost per month is $18,296. The average cost
per year for the past four years from October 2010
thru October 2014 for all nine dosers is $176,673. The
total thus far is $1,060,036.
Save the Tygart volunteers perform monitoring at all
doser sites. In FY 2014 they collected 1,144 samples
(7,237 parameters) at an estimated cost of $41,503.
The dosing effort continues and the typical cost seems
to be decreasing slightly.
yss
111
o
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-16-001C
January 2016
For additional information contact:
Robert Rice
Chief, Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation
304-926-0499x1476 • Robert.Rice@wv.gov
Three Fork Creek Restoration Website
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