Quantification of metal loads by tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling methods in Cataract Creek, Jefferson County, Montana, August 1997
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Cited by 2 publications
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This report quantifies arsenic loading to Bear Creek and identifies the principal source areas using the results of a tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling study conducted in Bear Creek during September 2000. Arsenic loads were calculated for mainstem sites along the approximately 3-mile long study reach by combining streamflow determined by tracer-injection methods with concentration data determined in synoptic waterquality samples.Arsenic was the only trace element in Bear Creek that had concentrations greater than the minimum reporting level. Dissolved arsenic concentrations increased from 0.5 to about 11 micrograms per liter (jiig/L) downstream through the study reach. Although cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc were not detected in any water samples from Bear Creek, these metals were detected in both right-and left-bank inflows downstream from Old Tailings North. Arsenic concentrations were elevated in many right-and left-bank inflows, and ranged from 0.5 to 228 |0,g/L.Dissolved arsenic loads in Bear Creek increased by 5,817 micrograms per second (jiig/s) through the study reach. North Fork Bear Creek contributed only about 1.5 percent (90 (ig/s) of the arsenic load to Bear Creek. Subsurface inflow along a 550-foot subreach near the Former Arsenic Mill accounted for about 36 percent (2,087 |U,g/s) of the arsenic load. Inflow from Outfall 001 accounted for about 8 percent (455 (ig/s) of the arsenic load./The remaining 54.5 percent of the arsenic load entering thejstudy reach was attributed to diffuse surface and subsurface inflows.Based on quantification of arsenic loads in Bear Creek, diffuse surface and subsurface inflows that probably derive arsenic from natural weathering of the host rock collectively constitute a large source of arsenic. Reductions in arsenic loads to Bear Creek could be maximized by remediation efforts that focus on more concentrated source areas, such as the subsurface inflow along the subreach between sites 1,496 and 2,046 (near the Former Arsenic Mill) and on the surface inflow from Outfall 001 (site 3,278).
This report quantifies arsenic loading to Bear Creek and identifies the principal source areas using the results of a tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling study conducted in Bear Creek during September 2000. Arsenic loads were calculated for mainstem sites along the approximately 3-mile long study reach by combining streamflow determined by tracer-injection methods with concentration data determined in synoptic waterquality samples.Arsenic was the only trace element in Bear Creek that had concentrations greater than the minimum reporting level. Dissolved arsenic concentrations increased from 0.5 to about 11 micrograms per liter (jiig/L) downstream through the study reach. Although cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc were not detected in any water samples from Bear Creek, these metals were detected in both right-and left-bank inflows downstream from Old Tailings North. Arsenic concentrations were elevated in many right-and left-bank inflows, and ranged from 0.5 to 228 |0,g/L.Dissolved arsenic loads in Bear Creek increased by 5,817 micrograms per second (jiig/s) through the study reach. North Fork Bear Creek contributed only about 1.5 percent (90 (ig/s) of the arsenic load to Bear Creek. Subsurface inflow along a 550-foot subreach near the Former Arsenic Mill accounted for about 36 percent (2,087 |U,g/s) of the arsenic load. Inflow from Outfall 001 accounted for about 8 percent (455 (ig/s) of the arsenic load./The remaining 54.5 percent of the arsenic load entering thejstudy reach was attributed to diffuse surface and subsurface inflows.Based on quantification of arsenic loads in Bear Creek, diffuse surface and subsurface inflows that probably derive arsenic from natural weathering of the host rock collectively constitute a large source of arsenic. Reductions in arsenic loads to Bear Creek could be maximized by remediation efforts that focus on more concentrated source areas, such as the subsurface inflow along the subreach between sites 1,496 and 2,046 (near the Former Arsenic Mill) and on the surface inflow from Outfall 001 (site 3,278).
Miller Creek is a tributary of Soda Butte Creek in south-central Montana near the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park. Surface-water and streambed-sediment samples were collected from streams and seeps throughout the Miller Creek watershed during low-flow conditions on August 28-31, 2000, to characterize metal concentrations and identify possible sources contributing metal to Miller Creek. Most water in Miller Creek appears to be unaffected by mining disturbances or natural weathering of mineralized rocks, although such effects are common elsewhere in the New World Mining District. Values for pH were near neutral to basic. Total-recoverable copper, lead, and zinc concentrations were low, relative to State of Montana water-quality standards, with many concentrations less than the analytical minimum reporting levels. Metal concentrations in Miller Creek during this study ranged from 1 to 6 micrograms per liter (µg/L) for total-recoverable copper, <1 to 5 µg/L for total-recoverable lead, and <1 to 26 µg/L for total-recoverable zinc. Concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in all samples from Miller Creek were less than the chronic aquatic-life criteria, except for one totalrecoverable lead value (5 µg/L) just downstream from the Black Warrior Mine inflow. Leachable lead and zinc concentrations in streambed-sediment samples collected during this study were highest at the Black Warrior Mine inflow. Leachable concentrations at this site were about 20 times greater for lead and 11 times greater for zinc than concentrations in the streambed-sediment sample collected from Miller Creek upstream from this inflow. However, these elevated concentrations had little effect on the leachable metal concentrations in the streambed-sediment sample collected downstream from the Black Warrior Mine inflow. Metal loading to Miller Creek during this low-flow study was relatively small. Three small leftbank inflows having elevated copper concentrations entered Miller Creek near the middle of the study reach and their combined total-recoverable copper load accounted for about 96 percent of the copper load in Miller Creek. Small loads of lead (about 2 micrograms per second) entered Miller Creek from the Black Warrior Mine inflow and a right bank inflow. None of the loads entering Miller Creek had an appreciable effect on mainstem metal concentrations. In addition, substantial differences between mining related areas and areas influenced by local geology could not be determined. ABSTRACT 1) draining the highly mineralized New World Mining District. The New World Mining District extends about 10 miles north and about 5 miles east of the southwest corner at the intersection of the 45th parallel and the 110th meridian (Lovering, 1929). Mining for gold, copper, silver, lead, and zinc began in the late 1800s and continued through the early 1900s, resulting in mining wastes that have been sporadically distributed throughout the Miller Creek watershed. These metal-enriched wastes have the potential to degrade the water quality o...
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