History of Water-Quality Sampling the the Lake Koocanusa Basin
Since 1984, Canadian agencies have collected samples to measure selenium concentrations in the Elk River measured at the monitoring station (site BC08NK0003) (British Columbia Ministry of Forests Lands Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, 2022) which is 2.2 miles above its discharge into Lake Koocanusa. Detections of selenium from this site have ranged from below detection to greater than 8 µg/L.
Selenium is a required micro-nutrient for most organisms but elevated concentrations in water bioaccumulate in egg-laying fish and birds, causing various sublethal effects and death. In order to protect the Lake Koocanusa ecosystem, collaborative efforts by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, the Lake Koocanusa Monitoring and Research Working Group, and a Selenium Technical Subcommittee have recently set standards that were adopted into Montana state law in 2020 and approved by the USEPA in 2021.
Since 1984, Canadian agencies have collected samples to measure selenium concentrations in the Elk River measured at the monitoring station (site BC08NK0003) (British Columbia Ministry of Forests Lands Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, 2022) which is 2.2 miles above its discharge into Lake Koocanusa. Detections of selenium from this site have ranged from below detection to greater than 8 µg/L.
Selenium is a required micro-nutrient for most organisms but elevated concentrations in water bioaccumulate in egg-laying fish and birds, causing various sublethal effects and death. In order to protect the Lake Koocanusa ecosystem, collaborative efforts by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, the Lake Koocanusa Monitoring and Research Working Group, and a Selenium Technical Subcommittee have recently set standards that were adopted into Montana state law in 2020 and approved by the USEPA in 2021.