Long-Term Surface-Water Monitoring in the Upper Clark Fork River Basin
Documenting channel conditions during water-quality sampling
at Silver Bow Creek below Blacktail Creek at Butte, MT
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected water-quality samples from selected stream sites upstream from Missoula since 1985.
The USGS began collecting surface water-quality data in the upper Clark Fork Basin in 1985 to establish baseline metal concentrations and loads and was later expanded in 1992 in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to provide consistent long-term data at a network of sites. The sampling was initiated in response to elevated trace-element concentrations and the designation of areas in the upper Clark Fork basin by the USEPA as National Priorities List Superfund sites. This water-quality information aids the public and local, State, Federal, and Tribal governments in assessing risks to aquatic resources, facilitating resource-management decisions, and evaluating the effectiveness of remediation. In addition to water-quality data, the long-term monitoring program also obtains daily records of streamflow, suspended sediment, and turbidity at selected sites, as well as trace-element data for biota and bed sediment.
The Clark Fork originates near Warm Springs in western Montana at the confluence of Silver Bow and Warm Springs Creeks. Along the 148-mile reach of stream from Silver Bow Creek in Butte to the Clark Fork near Missoula, six major tributaries enter: Blacktail Creek, Warm Springs Creek, Little Blackfoot River, Flint Creek, Rock Creek, and Blackfoot River. Large-scale mining and smelting were prevalent land uses in the upper basin for more than 100 years but are now either discontinued or substantially smaller in scale.
Deposits of copper, gold, silver, and lead ores were extensively mined, milled, and smelted in the drainages of Silver Bow and Warm Springs Creeks from about the 1860s to the 1980s. Moderate- and small-scale mining also occurred in the basins of most of the major tributaries to the Clark Fork. Tailings derived from past mineral processing commonly contain large quantities of trace elements such as arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc. Tailings have been eroded; mixed with stream sediment; transported downstream; and deposited in stream channels, on flood plains, in the Warm Springs Ponds, and where the former Milltown Reservoir was located (Andrews, 1987). The widely dispersed tailings continue to be remobilized, transported, and deposited along the stream channel and flood plain, especially during high flows. The occurrence of elevated trace-element concentrations in water and bed sediment can pose a potential risk to aquatic biota and human health (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004; Montana Department of Environmental Quality, 2012).
Below are data related to this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Spatiotemporal variations in copper, arsenic, cadmium, and zinc concentrations in surface water, fine-grained bed sediment, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in the upper Clark Fork Basin, western Montana—A 20-year synthesis, 1996–2016
Metals-contaminated benthic invertebrates in the Clark Fork River, Montana: Effects on age-0 brown trout and rainbow trout
Brown trout avoidance of metals in water characteristic of the Clark Fork River, Montana
Chemical characterization of sediments and pore water from the upper Clark Fork River and Milltown Reservoir, Montana
Characterization of ecological risks at the Milltown Reservoir-Clark Fork River Sediments Superfund Site, Montana
Toxicity of metal-contaminated sediments from the upper Clark Fork River, Montana, to aquatic invertebrates and fish in laboratory exposures
Use of benthic invertebrate community structure and the sediment quality triad to evaluate metal-contaminated sediment in the upper Clark Fork River, Montana
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 1992 through September 1993) and statistical summaries of water-quality data (March 1985 through September 1993) for streams in the upper Clark Fork basin, Montana
Bioaccumulation of metals by Hyalella azteca exposed to contaminated sediments from the upper Clark Fork River, Montana
Water-quality and transport characteristics of suspended sediment and trace elements in streamflow of the upper Clark Fork basin from Galen to Missoula, Montana, 1985-90
Large-scale distribution of metal contamination in the fine-grained sediments of the Clark Fork River, Montana, U.S.A.
Water-quality data (October 1988 through September 1989) and statistical summaries (March 1985 through September 1989) for the Clark Fork and selected tributaries from Galen to Missoula, Montana
Water-quality data (October 1987 through September 1988) and statistical summaries (March 1985 through September 1988) for the Clark Fork and selected tributaries from Galen to Missoula, Montana
Below are partners associated with this project.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected water-quality samples from selected stream sites upstream from Missoula since 1985.
The USGS began collecting surface water-quality data in the upper Clark Fork Basin in 1985 to establish baseline metal concentrations and loads and was later expanded in 1992 in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to provide consistent long-term data at a network of sites. The sampling was initiated in response to elevated trace-element concentrations and the designation of areas in the upper Clark Fork basin by the USEPA as National Priorities List Superfund sites. This water-quality information aids the public and local, State, Federal, and Tribal governments in assessing risks to aquatic resources, facilitating resource-management decisions, and evaluating the effectiveness of remediation. In addition to water-quality data, the long-term monitoring program also obtains daily records of streamflow, suspended sediment, and turbidity at selected sites, as well as trace-element data for biota and bed sediment.
The Clark Fork originates near Warm Springs in western Montana at the confluence of Silver Bow and Warm Springs Creeks. Along the 148-mile reach of stream from Silver Bow Creek in Butte to the Clark Fork near Missoula, six major tributaries enter: Blacktail Creek, Warm Springs Creek, Little Blackfoot River, Flint Creek, Rock Creek, and Blackfoot River. Large-scale mining and smelting were prevalent land uses in the upper basin for more than 100 years but are now either discontinued or substantially smaller in scale.
Deposits of copper, gold, silver, and lead ores were extensively mined, milled, and smelted in the drainages of Silver Bow and Warm Springs Creeks from about the 1860s to the 1980s. Moderate- and small-scale mining also occurred in the basins of most of the major tributaries to the Clark Fork. Tailings derived from past mineral processing commonly contain large quantities of trace elements such as arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc. Tailings have been eroded; mixed with stream sediment; transported downstream; and deposited in stream channels, on flood plains, in the Warm Springs Ponds, and where the former Milltown Reservoir was located (Andrews, 1987). The widely dispersed tailings continue to be remobilized, transported, and deposited along the stream channel and flood plain, especially during high flows. The occurrence of elevated trace-element concentrations in water and bed sediment can pose a potential risk to aquatic biota and human health (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004; Montana Department of Environmental Quality, 2012).
Below are data related to this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Spatiotemporal variations in copper, arsenic, cadmium, and zinc concentrations in surface water, fine-grained bed sediment, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in the upper Clark Fork Basin, western Montana—A 20-year synthesis, 1996–2016
Metals-contaminated benthic invertebrates in the Clark Fork River, Montana: Effects on age-0 brown trout and rainbow trout
Brown trout avoidance of metals in water characteristic of the Clark Fork River, Montana
Chemical characterization of sediments and pore water from the upper Clark Fork River and Milltown Reservoir, Montana
Characterization of ecological risks at the Milltown Reservoir-Clark Fork River Sediments Superfund Site, Montana
Toxicity of metal-contaminated sediments from the upper Clark Fork River, Montana, to aquatic invertebrates and fish in laboratory exposures
Use of benthic invertebrate community structure and the sediment quality triad to evaluate metal-contaminated sediment in the upper Clark Fork River, Montana
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 1992 through September 1993) and statistical summaries of water-quality data (March 1985 through September 1993) for streams in the upper Clark Fork basin, Montana
Bioaccumulation of metals by Hyalella azteca exposed to contaminated sediments from the upper Clark Fork River, Montana
Water-quality and transport characteristics of suspended sediment and trace elements in streamflow of the upper Clark Fork basin from Galen to Missoula, Montana, 1985-90
Large-scale distribution of metal contamination in the fine-grained sediments of the Clark Fork River, Montana, U.S.A.
Water-quality data (October 1988 through September 1989) and statistical summaries (March 1985 through September 1989) for the Clark Fork and selected tributaries from Galen to Missoula, Montana
Water-quality data (October 1987 through September 1988) and statistical summaries (March 1985 through September 1988) for the Clark Fork and selected tributaries from Galen to Missoula, Montana
Below are partners associated with this project.