Water-quality characteristics and suspended sediment of the Clinch and Powell Rivers in northeastern Tennessee, 1989-94

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Tennessee State Planning Office, conducted a 4 1/2-year water-quality study in the Clinch and Powell River drainage basins in northeastern Tennessee. Water-quality samples were collected and analyzed for an upstream site and a downstream site on each river. At the upstream sites, fecal coliform bacteria exceeded the water-quality criteria for recreational use in 14 of 20 samples. At the downstream sites, counts exceeded the criteria limits in 2 of 22 samples. Suspended- sediment discharge at the four study sites was related to streamflow, a rainfall factor, and seasonal effects. Concentrations of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfate, chloride, silica, and fluoride were all measured within the range expected for a natural carbonate system. Instantaneous total-iron concentrations exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency criteria for fish and aquatic life at the upstream sites in 23 of 28 samples on the Clinch River, and in 38 of 44 samples on the Powell River. At the downstream sites, total iron exceeded the same criteria in 2 of 5 samples on the Clinch River, and in 1 of 4 samples on the Powell River.