Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID WRI-340

Restoration efficacy of AMD treatment

Institute: West Virginia
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-01-01 End Date: 2026-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $51,410 Total Non-Federal Funds: $53,881

Principal Investigators: Nathan DePriest

Project Summary: Acid mine drainage (AMD) impacts 2,500 stream miles in West Virginia (WV). Remediating AMD at the watershed-scale is of current interest due to available funding, decreased long-term treatment costs, and increased stream restoration. AMD in headwaters can be remediated with both active and passive treatment. Passive treatment systems remediate individual AMD discharges at source, while active treatment systems can treat individual AMD discharges at source or multiple AMD discharges within the receiving stream itself. Evaluating the effectiveness of AMD treatment alternatives, both from a chemical (e.g., water quality) and ecological (e.g., fish and invertebrate populations) perspective, is critical to inform allocation of remediation resources. The project will evaluate quantitative and qualitative restoration outcomes of passive and active AMD treatment to provide recommendations for treatment alternatives in AMD-impacted headwaters.