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36 j NONPOINT SOURCE SUCCESS STURY
Missouri
Land Reclamation Activities Improve Water Quality in the Upper
Drywood Creek Watershed
Waterbodies Improved
Drywood Creek and Second Nicolson Creek (an upstream tributary)
were impacted by historic coal mining activities. Both creeks were
placed on the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for exceeding the acute water
quality criteria for sulfate plus chloride. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) wrote a
total maximum daily load (TMDL) which was approved in 2004 for Second Nicolson Creek to address the
sulfate plus chloride and to support the aquatic life designation. Multiple land reclamation projects within
the headwaters of the Drywood Creek watershed resulted in a downward trend for sulfate and chloride
concentrations in both streams. Both Drywood Creek and Second Nicolson Creek comply with Missouri's
water quality criteria. Drywood Creek was removed from the impaired waters list in 2016 for sulfate plus
chloride; Second Nicolson Creek is proposed for removal in 2018.
Problem
Early in the 20th century, the Drywood Creek watershed
in Barton County, Missouri, was heavily mined for coal
(surface and underground). Mining activities ceased
in the 1930s and 1940s, and the land was abandoned.
During the 1980s, Missouri's Land Reclamation Program
completed several environmental assessments in Barton
County and documented health and safety concerns
along with environmental concerns. Unsafe highwalls,
acid pits, spoil piles, barren soils and acid seeps were
observed. During the late 1980s and 1990s, water qual-
ity monitoring collected from several sites in the upper
Drywood Creek watershed confirmed instream impacts
from historical mining. This resulted in both Second
Nicolson Creek (waterbody M0_1319.00; 3.0 miles long)
and Drywood Creek (waterbody MO_1314_R; 29.9 miles
long) being placed on the CWA section 303(d) list of
impaired waters due to acute exceedances of sulfate
plus chloride (Nicolson Creek in 1994; Drywood Creek
in 2012) (Figure 1). The 2004 TMDL for Second Nicolson
Creek recommended a maximum sulfate plus chloride
loading equivalent of 970 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for
the protection of aquatic life.
Project Highlights
Multiple abandoned mine reclamation projects have
been completed within the headwater reaches of the
Drywood Creek watershed since the 1980s. A total of
286 acres of abandoned mine lands were treated, con-
tributing to water quality improvements that resulted in
Figure 1. The Upper Drywood Creek watershed is in
southwestern Missouri.
Drywood Creek being delisted for sulfate plus chloride.
Numerous highwalls and steep embankments were
eliminated, two collapsed mine shafts were closed,
several acid impoundments and seeps were neutral-
ized, and spoil piles were regraded and revegetated
Abandoned Mine Lands
Legend
~ Water Quality Monitoring Sites
2nd Nicolson Creek TMDL
Upper Drywood Creek
	Tributaries
n_ru i	i i Miles
0 0.4 0.8 1.6 2.4 3.2

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Figure 2. The Lester Davis Project land reclamation site
before (left) and after (right) a highwall was removed and the
land regraded and revegetated.
to reduce/eliminate migration of mine waste runoff.
Land reclamation projects in the Second Nicolson
Creek subwatershed reclaimed 15 acres (total costs not
available). Other projects in the watershed, the Bison
Reclamation Project and the Prairie State Park Project
reclaimed 160 acres ($82.1,195) and 47 acres ($933,996),
respectively. Another project completed in 2012, the
Lester Davis Project, treated 50 acres of historical mine
land at a cost of $460,553 (Figure 2). Funding from
numerous sources (U.S. Office of Surface Mining and
CWA sections 319(h), 106 and 604(b)) was used to com-
plete restoration projects, evaluate water quality, and
conduct biological monitoring. Progress will continue to
be tracked by monitoring surface water quality.
Results
Water quality conditions continue to improve in
the headwaters of the Drywood Creek watershed,
a direct result of reclamation activities. Sulfate and
chloride levels show declining trends. No occurrences
of toxicity events for either pollutant have occurred
in Drywood Creek since 2001, or in Second Nicolson
since 2013 (Figure 3). Second Nicolson Creek's pollut-
ant loading is now less than the loading target estab-
lished in the TMDL. As a result of these improvements,
Drywood Creek was removed from the impaired
waters list in 2016; Second Nicolson is proposed for
removal from the impaired waters list in 2018.
Data have also shown that specific conductance—a
measure of how effectively water can conduct an
electrical current—has declined in Drywood Creek
and Second Nicolson Creek. Recent data collected are
similar to typical readings seen in other streams in
this area of the state. An assessment of the biological
community indicates the aquatic macroinvertebrate
communities in both creeks are comparable to the
control stream; therefore, the creeks are considered
fuiiy attaining for the aquatic life designated use.
Drywood Creek
1400
1200
1000
Water Quality Criteria (1000 mg/L)
yearly Average S04+CI (mg/L)
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2013 2014 2015 2016
Second Nicolson Creek
1200.00
TMDL Allocation (970 mg/L)
1000.00
800.00
600.00
400.00
I
I I
1997 1998 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2013 2014 2015 2016
Figure 3. Water quality data show Drywood Creek
(top) and Second Nicolson Creek (bottom) are meeting
the water quality criteria (1,000 mg/L) and the more-
stringent TMDL allocation (970 mg/L), respectively.
Partners and Funding
Over $2 million were provided from federal and
state sources to complete projects in the watershed.
MoDNR's Land Reclamation Program worked with
numerous partners, including Missouri Department
of Conservation, MoDNR's Division of State Parks,
MoDNR's Geological Survey, MoDNR's Historic
Preservation Office, U.S. Office of Surface Mining; and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Approximately $38,760 used
for water quality monitoring to track water quality
improvements in Drywood Creek was provided by
CWA section 319(h) funding, whiie over $34,000 was
provided by CWA sections 106 and 604(b) fund-
ing to complete additional chemical and biological
monitoring.
o
4s,	/
PRO^
2
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-17-001T
October 2017
For additional information contact:
Mike Mueller
Missouri DNR, Land Reclamation Program
573-526-5887 • mike.mueller@dnr.mo.gov
Trish Rielly
Missouri DNR - 319 Nonpoint Source Program
573-526-4662 • trish.rielly@dnr.mo.gov

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