A procedure for predicting concentrations of dissolved solids and sulfate ion in streams draining areas strip mined for coal

Current trends in increased coal production neccessitate the development of techniques to appraise the environmental degradation that results from strip mining. A procedure is introduced for the prediction of dissolved-solids and sulfate-ion concentrations in streams draining strip-mined areas as functions of the percentage of the drainage area that has been strip mined. These relationships are expressed by regression equations computed from data collected in streams draining strip-mined areas of Cherokee and Crawford Counties in southeast Kansas.