Coeur d'Alene Basin Water-Quality Monitoring
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We partner with the EPA to conduct long-term water-quality and streamflow monitoring in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin, which has been widely impacted by historic mining activities.
U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic technicians Kevin Kirlin (left) and Ryan Smith collect water-quality samples from the Coeur d'Alene River near Cataldo (USGS 12413500) as part of an ongoing monitoring program that the USGS conducts on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
(Credit: Deena Green, USGS Idaho Water Science Center. Public Domain)
We collect water-quality samples 2-4 times per year at 20 sites throughout the basin. Our scientists analyze these samples for metals, hardness, sediment, and nutrients. In addition, we maintain 12 streamgages in the basin. The data from sampling and monitoring are used to help the EPA target remedial actions, to evaluate the effectiveness of remedial actions, and to describe long-term water-quality and streamflow trends.
As part of its ongoing cleanup efforts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is constructing a groundwater collection and treatment system to intercept and treat this contaminated water before it reaches the river. To establish conditions prior to construction, the USGS conducted a seepage study in September 2017 to quantify the rate and quality of groundwater discharging into the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River between Kellogg and Smelterville. We will conduct a second seepage study after construction and treatment plant system optimization are complete. This second study will evaluate changes in groundwater discharge to and water quality in the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River compared to the pre-construction conditions.
Trends in concentration, loads, and sources of trace metals and nutrients in the Spokane River Watershed, northern Idaho, water years 1990–2018
A long history of mining and widespread metals contamination in the Coeur d’Alene River watershed and downstream into the Spokane River has led to the area’s designation as a Superfund site and to extensive, ongoing (as of 2020) remedial actions. Long-term water-quality and streamflow data, collected by the U.S. Geological Survey for up to 29...
Zinsser, Lauren M.
Trace metal and nutrient loads from groundwater seepage into the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River near Smelterville, northern Idaho, 2017
The Coeur d’Alene mining district in northern Idaho historically was a globally important source of lead, zinc, and silver, but over 100 years of mining has left a legacy of metals contamination in the Coeur d’Alene River valley. Previous studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and others have indicated that groundwater discharging into the...
Zinsser, Lauren M.
Coeur d’Alene Basin Environmental Monitoring Program, surface water, northern Idaho—Annual data summary, water year 2017
Streams within the Coeur d’Alene River drainage basin in northern Idaho have been extensively affected by historical mining activities and are subject to ongoing remedial actions as part of the Bunker Hill Mining & Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates 12 real-time streamgages and collects surface-...
Zinsser, Lauren M.
Sources, transport, and trends for selected trace metals and nutrients in the Coeur d'Alene and Spokane River Basins, Idaho, 1990-2013
Data collected at 18 streamflow-gaging and water-quality sampling sites in the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane River Basins of northern Idaho were used to estimate mean streamflow‑weighted concentrations and annual loads of total and dissolved cadmium, lead, and zinc, and total phosphorus (TP) and nitrogen (TN) for water years (WYs) 2009–13...
Clark, Gregory M.; Mebane, Christopher A.
Simulation of Flow, Sediment Transport, and Sediment Mobility of the Lower Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho
A one-dimensional sediment-transport model and a multi-dimensional hydraulic and bed shear stress model were developed to investigate the hydraulic, sediment transport, and sediment mobility characteristics of the lower Coeur d?Alene River in northern Idaho. This report documents the development and calibration of those models, as well as the...
Berenbrock, Charles; Tranmer, Andrew W. Annual trace-metal load estimates and flow-weighted concentrations of cadmium, lead, and zinc in the Spokane River basin, Idaho and Washington, 1999-2004
Streamflow and trace-metal concentration data collected at 10 locations in the Spokane River basin of northern Idaho and eastern Washington during 1999-2004 were used as input for the U.S. Geological Survey software, LOADEST, to estimate annual loads and mean flow-weighted concentrations of total and dissolved cadmium, lead, and zinc. Cadmium...
Donato, Mary M.
Dissolved cadmium, zinc, and lead loads from ground-water seepage into the South Fork Coeur d'Alene River system, northern Idaho, 1999
The valley of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River and some of its tributaries have been heavily impacted by the dispersion of metal-enriched materials from the Coeur d’Alene mining district since 1884. The valley floor, including the unconsolidated valley-fill/flood-plain aquifers, is a major holding area for mine tailings. The U.S. Geological...
Barton, Gary J.
Concentrations and loads of cadmium, zinc, and lead in the main stem Coeur d'Alene River, Idaho—March, June, September, and October 1999
The Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within the Spokane River Basin of northern Idaho and eastern Washington included extensive data-collection activities in numerous studies to determine the nature and extent of trace-element contamination within the basin. The objective of this...
Woods, P.F.
Concentrations and loads of cadmium, lead, and zinc measured on the ascending and descending limbs of the 1999 snowmelt-runoff hydrographs for nine water-quality stations, Coeur d'Alene River basin, Idaho
The Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within the Spokane River Basin of northern Idaho and eastern Washington included extensive data-collection activities to determine the nature and extent of trace-element contamination within the basin. The U.S. Geological Survey designed and...
Woods, Paul F.
Concentrations and loads of cadmium, lead, and zinc measured near the peak of the 1999 snowmelt-runoff hydrographs for 42 water-quality stations, Coeur d'Alene River basin, Idaho
The Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency within the Spokane River Basin of northern Idaho and eastern Washington included extensive data-collection activities to determine the nature and extent of trace-element contamination within the basin. The U.S. Geological Survey designed and...
Woods, Paul F.
Hydrologist Measuring Streamflow
USGS hydrologist Greg Clark measures streamflow on Government Gulch Creek, a tributarty to the Coeur d'Alene River in northern Idaho. Streamflow data collected are included in the Coeur d'Alene Basin Environmental Monitoring Program the USGS conducts in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Coeur dAlene Basin Environmental Monitoring Program
The South Fork Coeur d'Alene River near Kellogg, Idaho has been impacted by historical mining activites. Since 2004, the USGS, in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency, has maintained a water-quality monitoring program in the Coeur d'Alene and Spokane River basins of northern Idaho and eastern Washington.
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Date published: November 24, 2014Data Show Northern Idaho Superfund Cleanup is Improving Water Quality
A new report published by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-led efforts to clean up historical mining contamination in the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane River basins are improving water quality.