Lake Coeur d'Alene Remediation Assessment
Type |
- Feasibility Studies
- Site Characterization
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Location |
Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
Partners |
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region
10
- U.S. Department of Justice
- North Idaho College
- University of Southern California
- University of California, Santa Curz
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Technology |
To Be Determined |
Contaminants |
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Description |
Methods developed by the Toxics Program to assess the movement
of contaminants in bottom sediments into the water of San
Francisco Bay, California, have been applied at Lake Coeur d'Alene,
Idaho (Scientists call the movement of dissolved contaminants, which can be either into or out of bottom sediments the benthic flux). Remediation strategies for the Bunker Hill Superfund Site,
Idaho, currently focus on channel modifications along the Coeur
d'Alene River that flows into Lake Coeur d'Alene. Results of a USGS
study to assess contaminant sources in the lake indicated that for
virtually all contaminants of concern, the abundance of contaminants
that have accumulated ubiquitously in the lake-bottom sediment over
the past century would limit the effectiveness of the remediation.
A decrerase in the contaminant load from the Coeur d'Alene River could result in an increase in the amount of contaminants released by the lake's bottom sediments (an increase in the benthic flux of contaminants into the water column). Computer modeling results show that
a potential increase in contaminants released from the bottom sediments
would be caused by an increase in the concentration gradient across
the sediment water interface caused by the river cleanup. Resource
managers can use this methodology to assess the effectiveness of
remediation strategies for other contaminated water bodies.
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More Information |
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Contact |
James Kuwabara, USGS, National Research Program, Menlo
Park, CA, |
Publications |
- Kuwabara, J.S., Berelson, W.M., Balistrieri, L.S., Woods, P.F.,
Topping, B.R., Steding, D.J., and Krabbenhoft, D.P., 2000,
- Benthic
flux of metals and nutrients into the water column of Lake Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho---Report of an August, 1999, pilot study: U.S.
Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 00-4132,
74 p.
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Links |
Other Studies Using the Same Methods to Determine the Benthic
Flux of Metals
Lake Coeur d'Alene Information
USGS Acid Mine Drainage Remediation Projects
- USGS Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative
- Acidic Plume Remediation Monitoring,
Pinal Creek, AZ
- Evaluating How Downstream Tailings
Deposits Impact the Effectiveness of Remediation Plans, Upper Arkansas River,
Colorado
- Summitville Mine and its Downstream
Effects
- Aquatic
Toxicology, Aquatic Physical Habitat, and Sediment Analysis in
Evaluating Land Mine Remediation Measures, Animas River, San
Juan County, Colorado
- Bear-Yuba
Watersheds Interagency Abandoned Mine Lands Project, Bear-Yuba
Watersheds, California
- Benthic
Macroinvertebrate Assessment of Abandoned Mine Lands Runoff and
the Development of Endpoints for the Determination of Ecological
Attainability in the Boulder River, Boulder River, Montana
- Effects
of Nutrients on the Formation of Acidic Mine Drainage
- Integration
of Geological and Ecological Indicators for Assessment of Impacts
on Stream and Riparian Resources, Boulder River, Montana,
and Upper Animas River, Colorado
- Remediating
Some of the World's Most Acidic Waters at the Iron Mountain Superfund
Site--A Tough Challenge for Scientists
- Restoration
of Stream Water Degraded by Acid Mine Drainage, Toby Creek
Mine Drainage Treatment Plant, Elk County, Pennsylvania
- Swatara Creek Basin, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
San Francisco Bay Information
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Back to Toxics Program Remediation Activities Index
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