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COMPLETED PROJECT

Project Products:

Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4205
Characterization of Hydraulic Conductivity of the Alluvium and Basin Fill, Pinal Creek Basin near Globe, Arizona
by Cory E. Angeroth

Angeroth, C.E., Leake, S.A., and Wagner, B.J., 1999,
Preliminary model development of the ground- and surface-water system in the Pinal Creek Basin, Arizona, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018A, v. 1 of 3, p. 211-216.

Hard Rock Mining Contamination in Arid Southwest Alluvial Basins—Pinal Creek, Arizona

Hard-rock mining for copper, gold, silver, and other minerals has been an important part of the economy of the southwestern United States for more than a century. Unfortunately, historical mining practices have contaminated ground water and surface water contamination at many abandoned and active mine sites. The Globe-Miami Mining District in Arizona has been a major copper-producing area since the late 19th century. Past mining practices there have contaminated the regional aquifer and a perennial stream in the area with acidic, metal-laden mine wastes. The U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, is studying this contamination with the overall objective of increasing scientific understanding of the controls on transport of metals and other inorganic contaminants. This knowledge, and new methods and models developed as part of these investigations, should have considerable transfer value to other similarly contaminated sites.

Since 1984, the USGS has studied the distribution of contaminants in the Globe area by sampling and analyzing ground water, surface water, aquifer materials, and streambed sediments. The chemical and physical processes that control contaminant movement and fate are being examined using laboratory experiments, ground-water flow models, inverse- and forward- geochemical models, stream-tracer experiments, and stream-transport modeling. USGS studies at Pinal Creek are funded by the U.S. Geological Survey's Toxic Substances Hydrology Program. The Program, begun in 1982, has the overall goal of providing unbiased earth-science information on the behavior of toxic substances in the Nation's surface and ground waters that is needed to avoid human exposure, to develop effective remedial strategies, and to prevent further contamination.