Mine water, a product primarily from pyritic weathering in coal mining regions, alongside oxidative weathering of other minerals, has caused destructive changes in water chemistry, sediment chemistry, and biological communities globally. Younger and Wolkersdorfer (2004) detail the impacts of mining on the freshwater environment. This study looks back to over twenty years of data collected in the coal-bearing region of Ohio showing impairments suggested by Younger and Wolkersdorfer (2004). This study focused on correlations between water and sediment chemistry and its impact on aquatic biology in the coal mined areas of four watersheds that have been severely, moderately, and lightly impacted by acid mine drainage. Sediment and water chemistry collected over a number of years at 62 sites have been correlated with a metric of biological health, specifically that of benthic macroinvertebrates. The study results suggest that contaminants including Al, Fe, and Mn in the water column are the most likely stressors to impede biological recovery supporting the findings of Younger and Wolkersdorfer (2004).

acid mine drainage, coal mining, macroinvertebrate