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1 <br /> EVALUATION OF SURFACE WATER QUALITY <br /> MID-CONTINENT MINE <br /> COAL BASIN PROJECT <br /> February 2, 1996 <br /> SUMMARY <br /> This report addresses the general water quality of Coal Creek below the Mid-Continent mine. At <br /> issue is whether some sort of surface water monitoring program should be continued at this facility, <br /> and whether the current information is adequate for determining any long-term effects of the mine <br /> on future water quality. <br /> This report focuses on the pH and metal contents at the downstream-most monitoring station <br /> comparing historical relations to the results gained from the most recent sampling events. <br /> An adjunct to this report, Posey (1993), is included by reference. That report focused on <br /> conductivity, total dissolved solids, and total suspended solids. <br /> Except for a general deterioration in water quality due to an increase in total dissolved solids, there <br /> appear to be no general adverse effects on water quality from this facility. Metal contents appear <br /> to be generally low, although the metals data are not of a consistent good quality to ascertain <br /> historical changes or to predict long-term effects. <br /> APPROACH <br /> The variation diagrams (attached) demonstrate changes in each of the consistently measured <br /> parameters through time at monitoring Station #20. On these graphs, each data point represents a <br /> discrete sampling point.Data were collected frequently in 1978 and 1979;less so in subsequent years. <br /> For most years from 1987 to the present, only two samples were collected—one around May and the <br /> other around November. Sequential data points are linked on the graphs by a solid line; absence <br /> of a line between points represents an intervening event for which the parameter of interest either <br /> was not measured or fell below detection limits. <br /> 1 <br />