Monitoring stations were installed in three small watersheds in the Cumberland Mountains and three in the Cumberland Plateau of east Tennessee to evaluate the effects of surface mining on water quality. Each set had a recently minedl old mined and unmined watershed. Stream flow and concentration levels for 5 water quality parameters, collected every four weeks from 1981 through 1984, were evaluated. Differences in water quality were found between mined and unmined watersheds, with mined ones generally having generally higher levels of minerals and greater turbidity. However. one unmined watershed yielded poorer water quality than its old mined counterpart water for most of the parameters tested, apparently due to an unpaved road. Water quality of one new mine also continued to deteriorate following mining due to controlled road use, trash dumping and poor reclamation.