Comprehensive Planning for Strip Mining Reclamation in Dry Regions with Emphasis on Water Harvesting

摘要

The benefits of water harvesting as an alternative to conventional reclamation were demonstrated on the Peabody Coal mines in northeast Arizona. The project produced food crops for 4 years and demonstrated that a catchment and crop area ratio of about 2.5:1 was sufficient to obtain sufficient water from the 11-in annual precipitation to produce garden and fruit varieties in quantities equal to or exceeding national production averages. The economic returns exceeded those of the conventional practice of returning the mine area to rangeland by at least tenfold. Subsidence of the regraded spoil was the only major problem in maintaining the system. Although, water harvesting benefits, as demonstrated by this project, they are presently at variance with strip mining regulations.