Explore the Linkage between Water Chemistry and Land Cover in Deckers Creek, 1974 – 1999

Qingyun Sun, Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, qsun@wvu.edu

Trevor M. Harris, Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, trevor.harris@mail.wvu.edu

Deckers Creek suffers heavily from acid mine drainage and is one of the most polluted streams in northern West Virginia. This problem has plagued the watershed for many years and there are extensive historical records recounting the stream’s orange color brought about by iron precipitation. In recent years there have been extensive and successful efforts by the area residents and local government agencies to provide remediation for this problem. This research examines the changes in water chemistry that have taken place over the past three decades and to correlate differences in water chemistry with changes in the adjacent watershed land cover. To this end Deckers Creek was divided into 29 stream segments and a comparative water chemistry analysis was undertaken for the two years 1974 and 1999. Using ERDAS software, the 1976 MSS and 1999 ETM+ images of the Deckers Creek area were analyzed and compared. The research concludes that notable improvements in the water chemistry in Deckers Creek between 1974 and 1999 is closely related to land cover change in the basin area. Interestingly, it is contended that the extensive urbanization and industrial development that has occurred in the Deckers Creek watershed did not worsen stream water chemistry but rather, in conjunction with land reclamation and water treatment, exerted positive impacts on the water chemistry.