Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Highway Construction Or Stream Destruction: A Water Quality Analysis In The Black Warrior Basin, Walker County, Alabama, Cayla Baughn

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In 2012, residents along Freeman Branch Creek in Eldridge, Alabama observed unusual orange discoloration along the stream and on stream vegetation; an unprecendented black veneer coating pebbles along the streambed; and life in the stream seemed to have vanished. Freeman Branch Creek is located in Walker County, Alabama, which is known for its production of coal and natural gas from the underlying Pennsylvanian-aged Pottsville Formation, which is the uppermost geologic layer within the the Black Warrior Basin. Concerns for environmental safety related to intensive mining operations include the concern that shallow aquifers will be contaminated by mining in deep reservoir …