Evaluating SEDCAD Model Performance on Reclaimed Coal Mine Lands in East Tennessee
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 3
Abstract
The Sediment, Erosion, Discharge by Computer Aided Design (SEDCAD) program is extensively used in the mining industry for engineering site layout plans with best management practices (BMPs) for erosion control. Although SEDCAD is the primary BMP design tool used in this industry, very limited published information is available on its performance estimating site runoff and sediment yields. This study compared sediment yields from three surface coal mining sites in east Tennessee with SEDCAD modeled outputs. Study sites included active mining operations on steep slopes () where after mining, approximate natural hillslope contours were reconstructed by using loose spoil materials on top of slope, at shallow depths of 1–2 m, following the Forest Reclamation Approach. The SEDCAD model inputs included the site-derived hydrologic curve number (CN) of 59 and average erodibility factors ranging from varying on the basis of pre- and postrill development periods and mining site. The SEDCAD overestimated sediment yields as a function of erosivity () up to 1.6 times greater than the minimally measured yields in two of the three study sites. A sensitivity analysis of input parameters found CN selection can greatly affect modeled outputs for sediment yield. For example, a 40% deviation in selecting a CN would double the computed sediment yield. Results from this study provide design engineers using SEDCAD a better understanding of the uncertainty with model outputs to improve selection and design of erosion BMPs on surface coal mining sites.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding support of U.S. Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining (OSM), Applied Science Program Grant CA No. S08AP12822. They would like to thank Dr. Daniel Yoder, Dr. Eric Drumm, and Wesley Wright at the University of Tennessee Knoxville for their project support. David Lane and Vic Davis with OSM offered helpful suggestions on study design and assisted in obtaining mining site access. The support from National, Premium, and Mountainside companies for allowing access to their property and study plot construction is greatly appreciated. Field and laboratory assistance was aided by Issac Jeldes, Nathan Felosi, Samuel Mathews, Chris Dixon, and Chris Drinnon.
References
Angel, P., et al. (2006). “Surface mine reforestation research: Evaluation of tree response to low compaction reclamation techniques.” Proc., 7th Int. Conf. on Acid Rock Drainage, R. I. Barnhisel, ed., American Society of Mining and Reclamation (ASMR), Lexington, KY.
Barfield, B. J., Barnhisel, R. I., Hirschi, M. C., and Moore, I. D. (1988). “Compaction effects on erosion of mine spoil and reconstructed top-soil.” Trans. ASAE, 31(2), 447–452.
Berger, C., Schulze, M., Rieke-Zapp, D., and Schlunegger, F. (2010). “Rill development and soil erosion: A laboratory study of slope and rainfall.” Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 35(12), 1456–1467.
Haan, C. T., Barfield, B. J., and Hayes, J. C. (1994). Design hydrology and sedimentology for small catchments, Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
Hawkins, R. H. (1993). “Asymptotic determination of runoff curve numbers from data.” J. Irrig. Drain., 119(2), 334–345.
Hoomehr, S., Schwartz, J. S., Wright, W. C., and Drumm, E. C. (2010). “Surface erosion and sediment yields on steep-sloped coal mining reclamation sites in the Appalachian region.” World Water & Environmental Resources Congress, ASCE/EWRI, Reston, VA.
Hoomehr, S., Schwartz, J. S., Yoder, S. C., Drumm, E. C., and Wright, W. C. (2012a). “Curve numbers for low-compaction steep-sloped reclaimed mine lands in the southern Appalachians.” J. Hydrol. Eng. (accepted).
Hoomehr, S., Schwartz, J. S., Yoder, S. C., Drumm, E. C., and Wright, W. C. (2012b). “Erodibility factors for low-compaction steep-sloped reclaimed surface mine lands in southern Appalachian region.” Hydrol. Proc. (accepted).
Mcintosh, J. E., and Barnhisel, R. I. (1993). “Erodibility and sediment yield by natural rainfall from reconstructed mine spoils.” J. Soil Sci., 156(2), 118–126.
Pinson, W. T., Yoder, D. C., Buchanan, J. R., Wright, W. C., and Wilkerson, J. B. (2004). “Design and evaluation of an improved flow divider for sampling runoff plots.” J. Appl. Eng. Agric., 20(4), 433–437.
Renard, K. G., Foster, G. R., Weesies, G. A., McCool, D. K., and Yoder, D. C. (1997). “Predicting soil erosion by water: A guide to conservation planning with the revised universal soil loss equation.”, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS). (1993). RUSLE© User’s guide: Revised universal soil loss equation, version 1.03, Ankeny, IA.
Sweigard, R., Burger, J., Zipper, C., Skousen, J., Barton, C., and Angel, P. (2007). “Low compaction grading to enhance reforestation success on coal surface mines.” ARRI Forest Reclam. Adv., 3, 6–12.
Taylor, T. J., Agouridis, C. T., Warner, R. C., and Barton, C. D. (2009). “Runoff curve numbers for loose-dumped spoil in the Cumberland Plateau of eastern Kentucky.” Int. J. Mining Reclam. Environ., 23(2), 103–120.
Toy, T. J., Foster, G. R., and Renard, K. G. (1999). “RUSLE for mining, construction and reclamation lands.” J. Soil Water Conserv., 54(2), 462–467.
U.S. Dept. of the Interior (USDOI). (2010). “Surface mining reclamation and enforcement provisions.”, Washington, DC.
Warner, R. C., Schwab, P. J., and Marshall, D. J. (1998). SEDCAD 4 for Windows design manual and user’s guide.
Wischmeier, W. H., and Smith, D. D. (1978). “Predicting rainfall erosion losses.”, USDA, Washington, DC.
Yao, C., Lei, T., Elliot, W. J., McCool, D. K., Zhao, J., and Chen, S. (2008). “Critical conditions for rill initiation.” Trans. ASABE, 51(1), 107–114.
Zhang, G. H., Liu, Y., Han, Y., and Zhang, X. C. (2009). “Sediment transport and soil detachment on steep slopes: Transport capacity estimation.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 73(4), 1291–1297.
Zipper, C. E., et al. (2011). “Restoring forests and associated ecosystem services.” J. Environ. Manage., 47(5), 751–765.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 3 • March 2013
Pages: 261 - 266
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 12, 2012
Accepted: Aug 28, 2012
Published online: Aug 31, 2012
Published in print: Mar 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.