Simulated flow and solute transport, and mitigation of a hypothetical soluble-contaminant spill for the New River in the New River Gorge National River, West Virginia

This report presents the results of a study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Park Service, to investigate the transport and factors affecting mitigation of a hypothetical spill of a soluble contaminant into the New River in the New River Gorge National River, West Virginia. The study reach, 53 miles of the lower New River between Hinton and Fayette, is characterized as a pool-and-riffle stream that becomes narrower, steeper, and deeper in the downstream direction. A USGS unsteady-flow model, DAFLOW (Diffusion Analogy FLOW), and a USGS solute-transport model, BLTM (Branch Lagrangian Transport Model), were applied to the study reach. Increases in discharge caused decreases in peak concentration and traveltime of peak concentration. Decreases in discharge caused increases in peak concentration and traveltime of peak concentration. This study indicated that the effects of an accidental spill could be mitigated by regulating discharge from Bluestone Dam. Knowledge of the chemical characteristics of the spill, location and time of the spill, and discharge of the river can aid in determining a mitigation response.