A community baseball field in Chapmanville, West Virginia, was experiencing continuous problems with the water drainage ditch around the field. The club is utilised by many mining families from Coronado, with many children playing games at the facility. Coronado decided to help by deploying staff, equipment, and materials to help improve the safety and visual appeal of the ditch and water drainage.
Challenge
We partnered with Logan County School Board and Chapmanville High School Baseball to address this problem.
They explained the baseball field was built on mitigation credits in 2009 by another coal operator, which went bankrupt once the field was built and therefore did not maintain the drainage. The drainage ditches filled with vegetation, which caused water to impound behind the vegetation. The ditches then became a breeding ground for bugs and reptiles – some of which were poisonous.
Baseballs are also expensive, and as foul balls are common, many of these balls could not be recovered as they were stuck in the ditch. When players or spectators crossed the ditch to retrieve balls it put them at risk of being bitten or stung.
Solution
A crew from our environmental team at Logan Division provided labour and used Coronado’s equipment to fix and rejuvenate the ditches backing on to the field. Five operators worked across three days, and two operators worked on the project for 14 consecutive days.
Outcomes
We decided to excavate the ditches, pipe them, and fill them with stone. This allows water to move freely, and the ditch is aesthetically pleasing in the process. This project improved our relationship with community, paved the way for us to sponsor games and promote Coronado as an employer of choice.
By improving the ditches, and the appearance of the field, it has opened a line of communication with the school board. It has also allowed us to have access to graduates that may want to pursue a career in mining.
