SEDIMENTATION POND DESIGNl

by
Dharmvir K. Bhatnagar 2

Abstract. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

(SMCRA) requires that all surface drainage from the permit area
shall be passed through a sedimentation pond. The pond design is
required to provide adequate sediment storage volume and to
contain the design event of 10-year, 24-hour precipitation.
Also, the pond is required to provide adequate detention time for
the incoming sediment to settle to enable the effluent to meet
the state and federal limitations, and to provide a dewatering
device to maintain the required capacity.
A perforated riser pipe at the inlet of principal spillways is an
economic and effective means for the Iowa ponds to comply with
the required performance standards. In case the pond is too
small to contain the design event, Sedimot II and Sedcad computer
models have be~n widely used to demonstrate that the effluent
would meet the required limitations for settleable solids.
The mining industry has to comply with both the design standards
and the performance standards, the former to get a permit and to
start the mining operations, and the latter to continue mining
operations without incurring the avoidable enforcement actions.
SMCRA helps the environment, although coal mining, especially in
mid-west, contributes only a small fraction of the total sediment
loss to the streams as compared to the agriculture, deforestation
and urbanization.
Key words: Iowa, NPDES, Perforated riser, Sedcad, Sedimot II,
Settleable solids.
Introduction for each component of the pond
are discussed with the
The sedimentation pond desig·n applicable rules. The Iowa
requirements and methodology designs are analyzed relevant
to the rules. In conclusion,
the whole perspective is
1 Paper presented at the 1992 viewed for the procedures and
significance.
National Meeting of the
American Society for surface Design Requirements
Mining and Reclamation,
Duluth, June 14-18,1992. The design of a sedimentation
2 Dharmvir Krishan Bhatnagar, pond broadly consists of two
criteria: first, the pond
Environmental Engineer, should have a capacity to
Division of Soil Conservation, contain adequate sediment
Iowa Department of Agriculture inflow and the 10-year, 24-
and Land Stewardship, Des hour precipitation event; and
Moines, IA 50319 second, the principal and
emergency spillways combined

664
Proceedings America Society of Mining and Reclamation, 1992 pp 664-668
DOI: 10.21000/JASMR92010664
https://doi.org/10.21000/JASMR92010664
should pass the runoff slope stability and foundation
resulting from the 25-year, 6- are more rigorous beside the
hour precipitation event. inspection and maintenance
criteria.
Rule Requirements
Surface Mining Control and Pond Capacity
Reclamation Act of 1977 The storage capacity of the
(SMCRA) requires in 30 CFR pond behind the dam embankment
816.46(b) (2) that all surface should be adequate for the
drainage from the disturbed combined sediment storage and
area shall be passed through a the design event runoff
sedimentation pond before flowing from the watershed
leaving the permit area. The into the pond.
subrule 780.25(b) dictates
that the sedimentation ponds Pond Capacity = sediment
shall be designed in storage volume + design
compliance with the runoff volume
requirements of the rule
816.46, the design standards
are delineated in the subrule Sediment Storage. The
816.46(c). The subrule universal soil loss equation
816.46(b) (4) dictates that the (USLE) is generally used to
ponds shall be designed in estimate the sediment storage
accordance with the rule capacity. It may be noted
816.49 which deals with the here that USLE gives the rate
impoundments. Thus, the of erosion, and not the rate
sedimentation pond designs of deposition, of soil
have to comply with both particles in tons per acre per
816.46(c) and 816.49. year for the given values of
the rainfall event, length and
MSHA Standards grade of the slope, land
30 CFR 77.216(a) delineates cover, and erosion control
the standards: If a structure practice. All the eroded soil
can impound water, sediment or from a watershed does not
slurry to an elevation of five reach the pond, some gets
feet or more above the deposited in the drainage
upstream toe and can have a channels. Modified universal
storage volume of 20 acre-feet soil loss equation (MUSLE)
or more, OR if it can impound accounts for the deposition,
water, sediment or slurry to and therefore, it gives closer
an elevation of 20 feet or estimate than USLE. A general
more above the upstream toe of estimate of 0.1 acre-feet per
the structure, it meets the acre of the disturbed area is
MSHA standards. In case an a fair estimate for sediment
emergency spillway is storage capacity.
provided, a dam can impound
water to the spillway crest. Runoff. The design event
runoff volume results from the
MSHA standards are important 10-year, 24-hour storm event.
because if a dam meets the USDA Soil Conservation Service
standards, then the spill ways (SCS) method of runoff curve
have to be designed to pass a number is the most popular
100-year, 6-hour precipitation method to estimate the runoff.
event; also, the criteria for The required pond capacity is

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provided to the crest of the limits of NPDES would still be
emergency spillway. met; Sedimot II and Sedcad
computer models of the
Short-circuiting. The University of Kentucky have
configuration of the principal been widely used for the
and emergency spillways should purpose.
be selected in a manner that
enough time is allowed for the Dewatering. A dewatering
incoming flow to settle the device is required to maintain
suspended solids before these the adequate pond capacity for
can pass through the spillways the runoff resulting from the
to minimize short-circuiting. next precipitation event.
Care is required to ensure
Detention Time. The pond is that the effluent does not
required to provide adequate exceed the NPDES 1 imi t. The
detention time for the dewatering time should not be
incoming sediment to settle less than the detention time.
down to meet the state and The principal spillway pipe,
federal effluent limitations generally, serves the purpose.
delineated as Q.5 milliliter
per liter of settleable solids Spillways. The principal and
in the National Pollutant emergency spillways combined
Discharge Elimination System are required to safely pass
(NPDES). The settling the design event runoff
velocity for the discharge resulting from a 25-
representative soil for the year or 100-year, 6-hour
worst scenario in the precipitation depending on the
watershed can be determined in size of the pond with
a laboratory. The required reference to the MSHA
minimum detention time can be criteria. The principal
extrapolated from the lab spillway is designed from the
results for settling velocity. detention time criterion. The
A period of 24 hours is emergency spillway is designed
considered a fair estimate of for the remaining flood after
the desired detention time. considering the discharge from
the principal spillway,
Computer model. The computed by reservoir routing.
settleable solids in the The slope of the emergency
effluent are expected to be spillway channel should have
within NPDES limits if the an appropriate lining to allow
pond capacity is adequate to the non-erosive velocity for
contain the design volumes of the design discharge.
sediment and runoff, short-
circuiting is minimized, and
adequate detention time is Iowa Designs
provided. Yet, the operator
is responsible if the effluent USDA SCS Standards
is observed to violate the Iowa designs follow the USDA
NPDES limit. In case the dam scs Practice standard 378 to
is not large enough to contain estimate pond capacity using
the design event runoff or the the runoff curve number
required detention time is not method, for sizing the dam
feasible, the applicant has to embankments for width, inslope
demonstrate that the effluent and outslope The size of
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principal spillway pipe is
checked for detention time and Perforated riser. A perforated
dewatering. scs criteria are riser pipe at the inlet of
used for emergency spillway principal spillways is an
designs for widths and side economic and effective means
slopes, and also for the for the ponds to comply with
permissible velocities in the the required performance
exit channels. standards for detention time.
Also, it facilitates the
Conservative Designs reservoir to drain,
Most of the Iowa designs are maintaining the required pond
over-designed, and therefore, capacity. The SCS Engineering
are conservative. In some Field Manual provides the
cases where the ponds do not formula for the discharge
have adequate capacity, through the riser openings as
Sedimot II computer model was follows:
used to demonstrate that the
effluent will meet the NPDES Q = 0.078*n*d*h 1 · 5 (1)
limit for settleable solids.
Three factors which make the where, n is number of
Iowa designs conservative are perforations per foot height,
discussed here: dis diameter of the
perforations, and
Disturbed area. The entire his the height of the
area of the watershed to be riser.
disturbed in the lifetime of
the permit is considered as
disturbed for computing the conclusion
weighted runoff curve number.
In reality, the entire area is The applicant has to comply
not disturbed at any° time with the design standards to
because of the contemporaneous get a permit and to start the
reclamation requirement. mining operations. The
Drainage from a portion of operator has to comply with
the watershed is intercepted the performance standards to
in the pits between the continue mining operations
watershed boundary and the without incurring the
pond, and it does not reach avoidable expenses for
the pond. Thus, the pond can enforcement actions. Iowa
handle runoff more than the designs are conservative.
design value. SMCRA helps the environment,
although coal mining
Runoff, The reservoir routing contributes only a fraction of
is not done. The entire the total sediment loss to the
runoff is considered for the streams as compared to the
design of the emergency agriculture, deforestation and
spillway. A portion of the urbanlzation·.
design runoff will flow out
from the principal spillway.
Thus, the design values of the Literature Cited
pond -capacity, and the crest
elevation and width of the USDI 30 CFR
emergency spillway are USDA SCS PS 378
conservative.

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