Determination of Background Sediment Yield and Development of a Methodology for Assessing Alternative Sediment Control Technology at Surface Mines in the Semiarid West

摘要

A comprehensive project to evaluate alternative sediment control techniques was initiated in 1987. The project, conducted by Water Engineering & Technology, Inc. (WET), consisted of a combination of field measurements, rainfall simulation testing, and evaluation and application of a watershed computer model for prediction of runoff and sediment yield. Data were collected at Black Mesa Mine near Kayenta, Arizona (Peabody Coal Co.), at Navajo Mine near Farmington, New Mexico (BHP-Utah International, Inc.) and at McKinley Mine near Gallup, New Mexico (Pittsburg and Midway Coal Co.). All of these mines are located in a semiarid environment where sediment yield is large and highly variable. Erosion generally results from occurrence of short duration, high-intensity rainfall of limited areal extent.