Havens, James H.

English

University of Kentucky

Highway MaterialA Research Laboratory 132 Graham Avenue, Lexington, 29, Ky. December 13, 1949 Memo. to: Dean D. V. Terrell Director of Research Re: Study of Acid Water Conditions in Kentucky D.2.1 D, l. 7 On October 4, Mr. Bray wrote to you regarding a memorandum which had been prepared a few days prior to that time reporting on some unusual water conditions on the newly constructed .portion of U. S. 60 betwePn Grayson and Ashland. The Division of Design had expressed concern over the very early disintegration of the invert of an uncoated corrugated metal pipe in one or two loca­tions on that project, and had suggested that the Research Labora­tory look into this if conditions permitted. Accordingly, J • .  H. Havens, Research Chemis t, went to these locations about the middle of September, sampled the water on both sides of the road at one point of interest, tested this water in +;he laboratory, and prepared che memorandum which is attached, This is the report to which Mr. Bray made reference in his letter of October 4. · In commenting on the report Mr. Bray stated thac che loca­tion described was 11 • • •  an unusual condicion and one that probably no advance inveAtigation ot ground water quality would have anticipated; however, it should be possible to define by proper investiga+;ion certain general geographic areas of the state in which acid ground waters are lik"lY to be prevalent". He then expressed an opinion that the Department may be making a mistake in continuing to specify uncoated corrugated metal pipe for road construction and maintenance in those sections, and recommended that a study of these conditions be made if we thought it worth­while. A project for this PUrpose has been es-cablished, and some preliminary work has been done. We are now in a position to expedite this, but in order to approach it most intelligently and efficiently there are two things which we should know. l. . The localities where the information is most urgently needed in order that effort can be concentrated on those areas. These may be areas in which grade and drain projects will 202 Memo. to: Dean D. V. Terrell -- 2 December 13, 1949 be set un in the very near future, and a decision on the pipe must be made soon. 2, The localities where disintegration of the pipe has been prevalent in the past. Probably this informs. :ion could be SUPPlied best hy the District Engineers, with some additions by the various Divisions involved in the Central Office. Considerable advance study and compilation of data is necessary on a project he.ving such a broad geographical scope as this, in order to avoid was�ing a lot of <:;ime and effort before we become oriented. However, if information for some localities should be expedited, we can give attention to <:;hose immediately, That is the principal reason for this memorandum and the schedul­inf; of a discussion of this at the Research Commi t·�ee meeting on December 20. Incidental to this, but s':;ill of primary importance, is the use we intend to make of aerial pho<:;ographs whenever they are available. By ·�his mc;ans we wi 11 not only be able +;o view the watPrsheo(ds and evaluate soils to the exten·c that that is possible, but also we sl<ould be able --;o establish some na.-t;ura.l as well as unnatural features (such as mining operations) which contribute to or determine the acidity of runoff waters. In ins"';ances where uho-::ogra.phs are not available in the Highway Depar·�ment files in Franl�fort -- and that will be the rule rather than the excePtion since the Department has relatively few photo­graphs sca-+;;tered throughout several counties -- we may have temporary access <;;o them in ·che coun-:;y offices of the Production and Marketing Administration. Thus far we hc1.ve been able to look at Photo Index Maps for most counties in their Sta-t;e Office here in Lexington, but ·�hey !1a.ve only a few of the con-t;act prints which are ac a. scale usable for our purpose. This use, plus the many other uses that have been made of aerial photographs in other opera ·:;ions throughout che Department, accentua-+;es the value of t'lese pho<:;ographs and tho fact that we have only a frac�ion of those ·�hat have been taken in all but four or five counties of �he state. It may be chat plans are underway for che Depar�ment to enlarge greatly on the aerial-photo coverage soon; bu-t; if +,ha-t; is not the case, I think the matter deserves a lot of consideration. We will nroceed with this interestL'lg and worthwhile study of acid water conditions bo·th in the field and through labor a tory 203 Memo1 to: Dean D. V. Terrell -� 3 December 13, 1949 tests to determine comnarative e:t'fec:;s of such Wa"';er, on the various kinds of pipe used in highway work, I am certain tha t the results Will be unique as well as useful. LG!vk A ttachmeh t Copies to! Resoectfully submitcedJ '/!. t_ . -' �  �v-11 E . .  Gregg J J Associate Directcr of Research Research Committee Herrtbe�s �1ack Galbreath 204 Highway Materials Research Laboratory 132 Graham Avenue, Lexington, 29, Ky. September 21, 1949 Memorandum to: Mr. L. E. Gregg Associate Director of Research Re: Erosion of Longitudinal 4011 Corrugated Metal Pipe, 1-1/2 Miles Northeast of Princess, Kentucky, on U. S. 6o D.2.1 Several days ago you expressed an interest in circumstances at the above ins<;allation which brought about the erosion of the floor of culverts on the north side of the road while similar installacions on the south side remain unaffected after approxi­mately one year of service. Because the apparent circumstances were seemingly unique, Mr. Peed and I visited the location and made an inspection of the existing conditions in an effort to explain this premature disintegration. We found, from the inspection of the surrounding terrain that the grade of the roe.d acts as a divide -- that is, t;he drain on the north side of the road drains only the area on the north, while the longitudinal drain on the south drains only the area on the south side, We also found, as you described, that longi­tudinal culverts on the south side were still in good shape while those on the north side had lost, by erosion, about two feet of the lower arc which had been continuously washed by the drainE\ge water. Photographs of the ins tall a tions and conditions described are attached hereto. Further inspection of the locale revealed that extensive "strip mining" operations are being "carried on11 on the north side. We traced this drainage water to within approximately a thousand yards of the mining operations where the drain left the road and went up a 11 hollow11 in the direction of the mine. We made a local inquiry and found that these mining opera­tions are being conducted by a Mr. Yates who has offices in Princess. Our informer also related that several years ago tunnel mining was very extensive on the southside and that after the mines were abandoned, their drainage water contaminated the streams to such an extent that some governmental agfmcy sealed them up; and although +;hey still drain, are sealed t:rom the atmosphere which reduces the formation and solution of corrosion acids and salts. In that regard, it is my opinion that continuous 205 Memo. to: Mr. L. E. Gregg -- 2 Seotember 21, 1949 excavation producing new exposures for solution and drainage would result in extreme contamination. Samples of drainage water were taken from both sides of the road and brought to the laboratory for analysis. Results of AnalYsis: The acidity of the water on both sides was titrated using NaOH and the concentration of acid was calculated in terms of the acid equivalent of the base necessary to bring about neutraliz.ation: North side - .01019 equivalents South side - .000238 " These equivalents calculated in per 1000 co 11 11 It North side - - .499 gms. H2S04 per 1000 co, South Bide - - .0117 gms. H2S04 per 1000 co. Analysis for chlorine ion concentration: North side - - . 000217 equivalents per 1000 cc. South side - - trace only Barium precipitate: North side - - 5. 1S g. per 1000 co. South side - - . 942 g. oer 100 co. H2S04 equivalent of Barium opt: North side - - 2.1S gms, per 1000 cc. South side - - . 396 gms. per 1000 cc. The results above are sufficient to explain the difference between the samples of drainage water and to explain the corrosion or erosion of the culverts on the north side of the road, No further investigation will be directed to this matter except on request. JHH:vk 206 c7 ',, ;;/ L' /££-7 .a/ / � /�c:v /'/' ,/9b z, '-James H. Havens Research Chemist No. 2. General view of Culvert on south side of road showing Mr. Havens obtaining sample of the 1•ra"ter. Culverts on this side show only slight corrosion and water still flows through them normally. .207 No. l. Close-up of bottom of culvert on the north side of road. It can be se_en that the bottom of the arc is missing and the water now flows at a depth of about 311 below the original pipe. 

Erosion of Longitudinal 40in Corrugated Metal Pipe

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Erosion of Longitudinal 40in Corrugated Metal Pipe

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