Water-quality effects after remediating abandoned draining mine tunnels using structural bulkheads were examined in two study areas in Colorado, USA. A bulkhead was installed in the Dinero mine tunnel in 2009 to improve water quality in Lake Fork Creek, a tributary to the upper Arkansas River. Although bulkhead installation improved pH, and manganese and zinc concentrations and loads at the Dinero mine tunnel, water-quality degradation was observed at the nearby Nelson tunnel. Only manganese concentrations improved in Lake Fork Creek downstream from the tunnel. To improve water quality in Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River, multiple bulkheads were installed in mine tunnels during 1996–2003 and a water treatment plant operated from 1989 to 2003 to treat drainage from several draining tunnels. After bulkhead installation and cessation of active water treatment (about 2003), water quality (pH and dissolved copper, manganese, and zinc concentrations) degraded at the mouth of Cement Creek. The patterns and timing were similar to post-bulkhead increased discharge and trace-metal loads at non-bulkheaded tunnels indicating the bulkheads might have been the cause. Pre-1989 water-quality data for Cement Creek are scarce, although limited historical data indicate possible, slight improvement in only manganese concentrations after bulkhead installation. Increased zinc loads in Lake Fork Creek and decreased pH through time in Cement Creek may indicate increased groundwater discharge to the streams after bulkhead installation. In these two study areas, bulkheads did not substantially improve downstream water quality.

在美国科罗拉多州的两个研究区域中，研究了使用结构性舱壁修复废弃的排水矿井后的水质影响。2009年在Dinero矿山隧道中安装了一个隔板，以改善福克湖（阿肯色河上游的支流）的水质。尽管舱壁安装改善了Dinero矿山隧道的pH值，锰和锌的浓度和负荷，但在附近的Nelson隧道却观察到水质下降。在隧道下游的福克湖中，只有锰的浓度有所提高。为了改善阿尼马斯河的支流水泥河的水质，1996年至2003年期间在矿井隧道中安装了多个舱壁，并于1989年至2003年期间运营了一家水处理厂，以处理多条排水隧道的排水问题。安装舱壁并停止进行主动水处理（大约2003年）后，Cement Creek河口的水质（pH值和溶解的铜，锰和锌浓度）下降。方式和时间安排类似于散装后的卸货量增加以及非散装的隧道中的痕量金属负荷，表明可能是舱壁的原因。1989年前的Cement Creek水质数据很少，尽管有限的历史数据表明可能，在安装舱壁后，仅锰浓度会略有改善。叉溪湖中锌负荷的增加和水泥溪中pH值随时间的推移降低可能表明安装舱壁后地下水向溪流的排放增加。在这两个研究区域中，舱壁并未显着改善下游水质。