Publications

Erosion of the streambed, known also as scour, around pier 3 of the New York State Thruway bridge over Schoharie Creek caused the pier to fail, which ultimately resulted in bridge failure during the flooding event of April 5, 1987. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) responded to the need for better guidance on the evaluation of bridge scour and the selection and installation of...

We describe 2 artificial stream experiments that exposed aquatic insect communities to zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and cadmium (year 2014) and to Zn, Cu, and nickel (year 2015). The testing strategy was to concurrently expose insect communities to single metals and mixtures. Single-metal tests were repeated to evaluate the reproducibility of the methods and year-to-year variability. Metals...

Most of the population of the Treasure Valley and the surrounding area of southwestern Idaho and easternmost Oregon depends on groundwater for domestic supply, either from domestic or municipal-supply wells. As of 2017, 41 percent of Idaho’s population was concentrated in Idaho’s portion of the Treasure Valley, and current and projected rapid population growth in the area has caused...

From 1953 to 1988, approximately 0.941 curies of iodine-129 (129I) were contained in wastewater generated at the Idaho National Laboratory, with almost all of it discharged at or near the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC). Until 1984, most of the wastewater was discharged directly into the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer through a deep disposal well...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, conducted aquifer tests during 2017–18 on 101 wells at and near the Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, to define the hydraulic characteristics for individual wells. These were short-duration aquifer tests, conducted with a limited number of observations during routine sampling. Pumped intervals (water columns)...

Since the early 2000s, biotic ligand models and related constructs have been a dominant paradigm for risk assessment of aqueous metals in the environment. We critically review 1) the evidence for the mechanistic approach underlying metal bioavailability models; 2) considerations for the use and refinement of bioavailability-based toxicity models; 3) considerations for the incorporation...

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 South Fork Coeur d’Alene River between...

Microplastic contamination was studied along a freshwater continuum from inland streams to the Milwaukee River estuary to Lake Michigan, and vertically from the water surface, water subsurface and sediment. Microplastics were detected in all 96 water samples and nine sediment samples collected. Results indicated a gradient of polymer presence with depth: low-density particles decreased...

Chemical monitoring data were collected in surface waters from 57 Great Lakes tributaries from 2010-13 to identify chemicals of potential biological relevance and sites at which these chemicals occur. Traditional water-quality benchmarks for aquatic life based on in vivo toxicity data were available for 34 of 67 evaluated chemicals. To expand evaluation of potential biological effects...

Nuclear research activities at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) produced liquid and solid chemical and radiochemical wastes that were disposed to the subsurface resulting in detectable concentrations of some waste constituents in the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer. These waste constituents may affect the water quality of the aquifer and may...

Understanding streamflow in montane watersheds on regional scales is often incomplete due to a lack of data for small-order streams that link precipitation and snowmelt processes to main stem discharge. This data deficiency is attributed to the prohibitive cost of conventional streamflow measurement methods and the remote location of many small streams. Expedient and low-cost streamflow

Mineralization and historical mining of stibnite (antimony sulfide), tungsten, gold, silver, and mercury in the headwaters of the East Fork of the South Fork Salmon River (EFSFSR) near the former town of Stibnite in central Idaho resulted in water-quality impairments related to mercury, antimony, and arsenic. Additionally, mining-related disturbances and wildfires have resulted in a lack...