Coeur d' Alene Basin Water-Quality Monitoring

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Status: Active

From the late 1880s to the late 1970s, the upper Coeur d' Alene River basin of northern Idaho was one of the Nation's most active mining and ore-processing districts. Ore tailings containing lead, zinc, cadmium, and other metals often were deposited into and along the basin's streams. Water and sediments distributed these contaminants throughout the basin's streams, lakes, and floodplains and downstream into the Spokane River of eastern Washington. These trace-metal contaminants pose risks to humans, fish, wildlife, and the environment.

In 1983, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established a 21 square-mile Superfund cleanup site surrounding the defunct Bunker Hill Mine and ore-processing complex in Kellogg, Idaho. The State of Idaho, other Federal agencies, and the mining industry also are conducting site-specific sediment removal, reclamation, and stream-channel rehabilitation.

In 2002, the EPA and Idaho Water Science Center established a Basin Environmental Monitoring Program (BEMP). The BEMP provides long-term data that helps the EPA and other decision makers evaluate and adjust the ongoing cleanup efforts. With EPA funding, the Idaho Water Science Center collects specific types of water data at 16 monitoring sites located along more than 160 river miles. Sediment and biological resource data is also collected.