Laserfiche WebLink
• Using the 10-year, 24-hour storm to model postmining conditions, SEDIMOT II predicted a <br />20-fold increase in peak discharge, and runoff volume increased by a factor of 33. The <br />model predicted a 36-fold increase in sediment yield, but peak sediment concentration <br />increased by less than 1 milligram per liter. <br />The use of the 100-year, 24-hour depth (2.60 inches) resulted in increased runoff under <br />postmining conditions, including a 13-fold increase in peak discharge, and an 8-fold <br />increase in runoff volume. Although sediment yield tripled under postmining conditions, <br />the peak sediment concentration decreased by more than 60 percent. <br />Table 17-27 presents values for SEDIMOT II input parameters determined for each <br />subwatershed established and modeled in the upper 006 Gulch drainage. The entire portion <br />of Subwatershed I lies outside of any proposed mining-related disturbance, and values for <br />input parameters were held constant for both pre- and postmining conditions. In all other <br />subwatersheds, values of curve numbers increased and times of concentrations decreased <br />significantly for postmining model runs. Increases in curve numbers ranged from 11 <br />percent (Subwatershed II) up to 64 percent (subwatershed VIIB). Decreases in time of <br />• concentration ranged between 8 percent (Subwatershed II) and 46 percent (subwatershed <br />VIIB). <br />Values for K factor also significantly increased in all subwatersheds (except Subwatershed <br />1) under postmining conditions, ranging from 18 percent (Subwatershed II) up to 35 percent <br />(Subwater sheds IV and VIB). Slope length (L factor) both decreased and increased in the <br />modeled subwatersheds under the postmining scenario. The magnitudes of the decreases were <br />more pronounced in the larger subwatersheds (subwatersheds III, IV, and V), ranging from <br />13 percent (Subwatershed IV) up to 60 percent (subwatershed V). Average watershed slope, <br />or S factor, was lower in all subwatersheds under postmining conditions, with the <br />exception of Subwa to rsheds I, V, and VI B. Although average watershed slope increased by <br />more than 20 percent in the largest subwatershed (V), the postmining slope (17.5 percent) <br />determined for this subwatershed was lower than the weighted average of all postmining <br />slopes calculated for each subwatershed (18.6 percent). <br />The higher runoff rates and volumes predicted for postmining conditions in the 006 <br />drainage resulted from higher curve numbers and lower times of concentration. Increased <br />• sediment yields were largely caused by increases in K factor values, combined with <br />increased runoff volumes and rates. The reduced sediment concentration predicted for <br />71 <br />