Trends in concentration, loads, and sources of trace metals and nutrients in the Spokane River Watershed, northern Idaho, water years 1990–2018

Zinsser, Lauren M.

doi:10.3133/sir20205096

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…WRTDS captures changes in C–Q relationships over time and generates a modeled 3D surface that shows expected concentrations across a range of possible discharge values for each day in the period of record (SI Figure 10). Information contained within this 3D surface allows for inferences about the effects of changing hydrologic conditions, evidenced through changing behavior in the C–Q relationship over time. ,, …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Information contained within this 3D surface allows for inferences about the effects of changing hydrologic conditions, evidenced through changing behavior in the C−Q relationship over time. 48,73,74 Two different visualizations were explored. The first set of visualizations are like traditional C−Q plots, but on an arithmetic scale, and relationships at three different days over time are shown on the same graph.…”

Section: Flow-normalized Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Growth of Coal Mining Operations in the Elk River Valley (Canada) Linked to Increasing Solute Transport of Se, NO₃^–, and SO₄^2– into the Transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (USA–Canada)

Storb,

Bussell,

Caldwell Eldridge

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Koocanusa Reservoir (KOC) is a waterbody that spans the United States (U.S.) and Canadian border. Increasing concentrations of total selenium (Se), nitrate + nitrite (NO 3 − , nitrite is insignificant or not present), and sulfate (SO 4 2− ) in KOC and downstream in the Kootenai River (Kootenay River in Canada) are tied to expanding coal mining operations in the Elk River Watershed, Canada. Using a paired watershed approach, trends in flownormalized concentrations and loads were evaluated for Se, NO 3 − , and SO 4 2− for the two largest tributaries, the Kootenay and Elk Rivers, Canada. Increases in concentration (SO 4 2− 120%, Se 581%, NO 3 − 784%) and load (SO 4 2− 129%, Se 443%, NO 3 − 697%) in the Elk River (1979−2022 for NO 3 − , 1984−2022 for Se and SO 4 2−) are among the largest documented increases in the primary literature, while only a small magnitude increase in SO 4 2− (7.7% concentration) and decreases in Se (−10%) and NO 3 − (−8.5%) were observed in the Kootenay River. Between 2009 and 2019, the Elk River contributed, on average, 29% of the combined flow, 95% of the Se, 76% of the NO 3 − , and 38% of the SO 4 2− entering the reservoir from these two major tributaries. The largest increase in solute concentrations occurred during baseflows, indicating a change in solute transport and delivery dynamics in the Elk River Watershed, which may be attributable to altered landscapes from coal mining operations including altered groundwater flow paths and increased chemical weathering in waste rock dumps. More recently there is evidence of surface water treatment operations providing some reduction in concentrations during low flow times of year; however, these appear to have a limited effect on annual loads entering KOC. These findings imply that current mine water treatment, which is focused on surface waters, may not sufficiently reduce the influence of mine-waste-derived solutes in the Elk River to allow constituent concentrations in KOC to meet U.S. water-quality standards.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Flow-normalized Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth of Coal Mining Operations in the Elk River Valley (Canada) Linked to Increasing Solute Transport of Se, NO₃^–, and SO₄^2– into the Transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (USA–Canada)

Storb,

Bussell,

Caldwell Eldridge

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Zinc is an essential trace element for all aerobic cells but can be toxic to aquatic life at higher concentrations. Natural concentrations of Zn in unpolluted freshwaters are typically less than 5 µg/L and are sufficient to meet nutritional needs (Table 1; Hogstrand 2011), but Zn concentrations can exceed 2000 µg/L in mining disturbed areas (Table 1; Mebane et al 2012;Nordstrom et al 2015;Zinsser 2020). Zinc is bioconcentrated from water through primary production but biomagnification beyond the primary producers appears to be limited to dietary needs (Cardwell et al 2013).…”

Section: Zincmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mine drainage can lead to extreme Cu and Zn concentrations in nearby streams. Zinc's solubility has resulted in elevated Zn concentrations >100 km downstream of sources (Zinsser 2020). While Cu is less soluble than Zn, Cu likewise can be persistently released from mine drainage or runoff from disturbed, mineralized landscapes (Moore et al 1991;Leblanc et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioavailability and toxicity models of copper and zinc to freshwater life: the state of the science and alternatives for water quality criteria

Mebane¹

2022

Preprint

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The importance of water conditions on the bioavailability and toxicity of metals has long been recognized. In the United States and elsewhere, regulatory criteria to protect aquatic life have likewise acknowledged factors that modify bioavailability, and incorporated water hardness-toxicity regressions into criteria for several metals. Biotic ligand models (BLMs) became a dominant paradigm in predicting the aquatic toxicology of metals as mechanistic functions of modeled metals speciation and cation competition for binding to ionoregulatory sites on the gill or biotic ligand surface, disrupting the internal mineral balance of organisms and leading to stress or death. Following development of software that efficiently executed BLM calculations, in 2007 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published national recommended aquatic life criteria for copper (Cu) that was based upon the BLM construct and software. However, there has not been widespread adoption by states of the USEPA’s recommended BLM-based aquatic life criteria into their water quality standards. Reasons for the languishing of the BLM-based Cu criteria presumably include that the BLM-based Cu criteria are far more complex than any previous aquatic life criteria and that the BLM requires much more data than water hardness to calculate the criteria. pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), a suite of major ions, alkalinity, and specialized software are required to calculate BLM-based criteria. The purpose of the present study is to compare the leading available aquatic life criteria models for predicting Cu and zinc (Zn) toxicity (or lack of toxicity) to diverse freshwater species and ecosystems: 1) the single linear regression hardness models; 2) Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) models that predict toxicity as a function of DOC, hardness, and pH, and 3) BLM-based criteria. The scope of the review for Zn was truncated relative to that of Cu because no generally applicable MLR model for Zn was available at the time of writing.The comparisons included evaluating the performance of the models for predicting Cu toxicity and the models’ behavior in natural waters. The evaluations of toxicity predictions were limited to freshwater animals and included testing model predictions against literature reports of observed acute and chronic responses with trout, other fish, mussels and other invertebrates, and olfactory impairment or avoidance responses in salmonids. The presumed “safe” criteria concentrations were also compared against effects attributed to Cu in field studies or ecosystem experiments. The comparisons emphasize natural waters in California, however conditions in California waters are diverse and the comparisons are broadly relevant to other freshwaters.The results were consistent with previous work that found that the MLR toxicity predictions were generally more reliable than the BLM for predicting Cu toxicity across the vast majority of natural water types, but that the BLM predictions were more reliable in situations with low or high pH (less than about 5.7 or greater than about 9) or in waters with unusual ionic composition. However, both the MLR and BLM performed well with many datasets and aquatic life criteria calculation procedures both produced criteria concentrations that mostly appeared safe in comparisons with field and ecosystem studies and with particularly sensitive species and endpoints such as chemoreception and avoidance behaviors in salmonids. In marked contrast, the hardness-regression model toxicity predictions performed poorly with all datasets tested, with little correspondences between predicted and observed effects. The comparisons of the hardness-criteria concentrations with Cu effects thresholds estimated from field and ecosystem studies showed that the hardness-based criteria failed to reliably produce protective concentrations. In soft waters with less than about 40 mg/L hardness, the hardness-based criteria would be protective but not at higher hardnesses. In natural waters, the hardness criteria had little correlation to the MLR, which was the most accurate proxy for truly toxic or nontoxic conditions, and in some steams, the hardness-based criteria actually had negative correlations with the MLR criteria.Th performance and protectiveness of the Cu MLR and BLM models and criteria were largely similar. However, the Cu MLR has advantages for adoption into water quality standards over the BLM because of its reduced data requirements, simpler form, ease of calculation, transparency, and non-dependence on specialized computer software. The Cu MLR could be structured in tiers to accommodate missing data by setting conservative default values for pH or DOC, for example, pH 7 and 1 mg/L DOC. Then, only if environmental Cu concentrations exceeded criteria as calculated with default values would actual DOC and pH data be needed.

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Aquatic macrophytes show distinct spatial trends in contaminant metal and nutrient concentrations in Coeur d’Alene Lake, USA

Scofield

Fields

Chess

2023

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Trends in concentration, loads, and sources of trace metals and nutrients in the Spokane River Watershed, northern Idaho, water years 1990–2018

Abstract: For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov/.

Cited by 3 publications

References 21 publications

Growth of Coal Mining Operations in the Elk River Valley (Canada) Linked to Increasing Solute Transport of Se, NO₃^–, and SO₄^2– into the Transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (USA–Canada)

Growth of Coal Mining Operations in the Elk River Valley (Canada) Linked to Increasing Solute Transport of Se, NO₃^–, and SO₄^2– into the Transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (USA–Canada)

Bioavailability and toxicity models of copper and zinc to freshwater life: the state of the science and alternatives for water quality criteria

Aquatic macrophytes show distinct spatial trends in contaminant metal and nutrient concentrations in Coeur d’Alene Lake, USA

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Trends in concentration, loads, and sources of trace metals and nutrients in the Spokane River Watershed, northern Idaho, water years 1990–2018

Abstract: For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov/.

Cited by 3 publications

References 21 publications

Growth of Coal Mining Operations in the Elk River Valley (Canada) Linked to Increasing Solute Transport of Se, NO3–, and SO42– into the Transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (USA–Canada)

Growth of Coal Mining Operations in the Elk River Valley (Canada) Linked to Increasing Solute Transport of Se, NO3–, and SO42– into the Transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (USA–Canada)

Bioavailability and toxicity models of copper and zinc to freshwater life: the state of the science and alternatives for water quality criteria

Aquatic macrophytes show distinct spatial trends in contaminant metal and nutrient concentrations in Coeur d’Alene Lake, USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Growth of Coal Mining Operations in the Elk River Valley (Canada) Linked to Increasing Solute Transport of Se, NO₃^–, and SO₄^2– into the Transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (USA–Canada)

Growth of Coal Mining Operations in the Elk River Valley (Canada) Linked to Increasing Solute Transport of Se, NO₃^–, and SO₄^2– into the Transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (USA–Canada)