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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~, and median alkalinity values ranged from 0 to 4 mg/L as CaCO-. 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 mouth of Raccoon Creek indicate that cumulative sedimentation from erosion of abandoned-mine lands is not excessive in the basin. INTRODUCTION Background The Raccoon Creek basin in southeastern Ohio has been influenced by its coal resources coal mining in the basin began in the 1850's and continues today. Throughout the predominantly hilly landscape are abandoned underground mines and abandoned and active surface mines. The long history of coal mining in the basin has resulted in serious and widespread degradation of surface-water quality as a result of mine drainage. The Raccoon Creek basin was classified by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) as a highpriority area in which immediate reclamation of abandoned mines is desirable (Ohio Board on Unreclaimed Strip Mined Lands, 1974). ODNR plans reclamation of abandoned-mine lands throughout the Raccoon Creek basin. Several reclamation projects have been completed since 1980 in small subbasins of Raccoon Creek, and others will be initiated until reclamation is complete. A previous study of the Raccoon Creek basin was conducted in 1983 and 1984 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, to develop a water-quality data base to prioritize individual reclamation projects (Wilson, 1985). Data collected for the study supplemented existing water-quality data that were compiled for the period January 1975 through January 1983 (Roth and Cooper, 1984; Pfaff and others, 1981; Childress, 1984; and Nichols, 1983). Results were used to characterize the extent of water-quality degradation due to coal mining. The objectives of the study reported here, also conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation, were to (1) extend the water-quality data base to enable documentation of long-term and large-scale changes in water quality due to planned reclamation in the basin; (2) compare the effect of mine drainage and drainage from reclaimed areas on the abundance and diversity of benthic organisms; and (3) measure sediment yields and rates of deposition and scour in the basin. Initially, data collection was to continue through 1993 so that postreclamation conditions could be adequately evaluated and insight into the effectiveness of reclamation of abandoned mines could be gained for a large basin. Lack of funds limited the period of data collection from July 1984 through September 1986. As of 1986, widespread reclamation within the basin had not yet been completed. Purpose and Scope The purpose of this report is to present results of the analyses of chemical, biological, and suspended-sediment data collected from July 1984 through September 1986. These data can be used as background data for comparison after reclamation is complete. Chemical and biological data were collected at 17 sites, and suspended-sediment data were collected at 5 sites-3 sites on Raccoon Creek and 2 sites on Little Raccoon Creek, a large tributary. One of the 17 sites was in an unmined area and was used as a control site. STUDY AREA Raccoon Creek drains 684 square miles of southeastern Ohio (fig. 1). The stream, which is 110 miles long, originates in Hocking County and flows through Vinton, Meigs f and Gallia Counties to the Ohio River. Among the many tributaries are Little Raccoon Creek (drainage area, 155 square miles) , Elk Fork (drainage area, 59.8 square miles), Hewett Fork (drainage area, 40.5 square miles), and Brushy Creek (drainage area, 34 square miles) (fig. 2). The area is sparsely populated. The largest communities within the basin are Wellston (population 6,016), McArthur (population 1,912), Hamden (population 1,010), and Rio Grande (population 864) (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1981). The main industries are coal mining, wood processing, and small-scale manufacturing. No municipal water supplies are taken from Raccoon Creek. However, there are two public surface-water supplies in the basin, at Rio Grande and Wellston, that withdraw water from Raccoon Creek tributaries. All other communities and most of the manufacturing plants in the basin obtain water from wells. Ground water also is the major source of domestic water supply (Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, 1967). Raccoon Creek basin is in the central hardwood forest region, and woodland is a major land use. Pulp and lumber are important forest products. Agriculture also is important; livestock and general farming predominate. Principal crops grown are corn, soybeans, and tobacco. Deposits of coal, limestone, clay, sand, and iron ore are found throughout the basin, however, high-grade iron-ore reserves essentially were depleted in the early 1900's. Coal production continues to be an important industry. Since the enactment of Public Law 95-87, the "Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977", all surface mines are required to be reclaimed; however, many previously mined areas in the basin had already been abandoned. Some of these areas are reverting to brush and woodland, but others, with soils too toxic to support vegetation, remain barren. Physiographic and Geologic Setting The Raccoon Creek basin is in the unglaciated part of the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province (Fenneman, 1938). In general, the terrain is hilly. The predominant formations cropping out in the basin in ascending order are the Pottsville, Allegheny, and Conemaugh Formations of Pennsylvanian age (fig. 3). The Pottsville and the Allegheny Formations crop out in the northern and western parts of the basin, and the Conemaugh Formation crops out in the southern and eastern parts of the basin. In the basin, bedrock generally consists of a series of alternating clay, coal, shale, limestone, and sandstone beds. 39°30'-l H O C K I N G r--i..J W A S H I N : .f NelsonvJIiilliilli \ M E I G S --i -, i \.~ ;j A c K s;Ef AJ L-.L I A ', S." i / EXPLANATION RACCOON CREEK BASIN WAYNE NATIONAL FOREST Base from U. S. Geological Survey state base map, 1971. 10 20 30 MILES i . IL 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS Figure 1. The Raccoon Creek basin in southeastern Ohio.

water-resources investigations report

Chemical quality, benthic organisms, and sedimentation in streams draining coal-mined lands in Raccoon Creek basin, Ohio, July 1984 through September 1986