Katie Walton-Day
Biography
Katie obtained M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geology from the Colorado School of Mines. She is a research hydrologist and has worked at the U.S. Geological Survey located in Denver, Colorado for over 30 years. During this time her research has primily focused on understading the sources and mobility of trace metals associated with hard rock and uranium mineral deposits primariy in the western United States. A primary goal of her research is to provide science-based information to facilitate decisions about remediation in areas contaminated by historic mining practices.
Science and Products
Minerals Science Team
The Minerals Integrated Science Team focuses on contaminant exposures in the environment that might originate from mineral resource activities including, transportation, storage, extraction and waste management. Perceived health risks to humans and other organisms will be distinguished from actual risks, if any. If actual risks are identified this Team will inform how to...
Upper Arkansas River Basin Toxics and Synoptic Studies
From 1986 to 2001, the Upper Arkansas Toxics Project focused on metal transport in streams affected by mining. Studies were conducted to quantify the physical, chemical, and biological processes affecting trace metal fate and transport.
Gold King Mine release (2015): USGS water-quality data and activities
On August 5, 2015, U.S. EPA was conducting an investigation of the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado. While excavating as part of the investigation, water began leaking from the mine tunnel, and about three million gallons of water and sediment were released into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River. The USGS provided pre- and post-release water-quality and streamflow data from...
Watershed Contamination from Hard Rock Mining
Since 1986, the USGS Hard-Rock Mining Toxic-Substances Hydrology Project has focused on metal transport in streams affected by mining. Tracer-injection studies in St. Kevin Gulch, near Leadville, Colorado, helped the USGS design methods to characterize loading from mining activities on a watershed scale. Tracer-injection studies were done in 1995, in support of the planning needs of ederal...
U.S. Geological Survey Develops Approach to Assess Baseline Chemical and Radiological Conditions Prior to Uranium Mining near Grand Canyon National Park
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists developed an approach and collected baseline data to quantitatively assess offsite migration of mine-related contaminants and to identify critical contaminant exposure pathways that could result from uranium mining activities in the Grand Canyon region.
Metal Concentrations and Loads in Leavenworth Creek, Colorado
Metal loading from abandoned mines and groundwater in Leavenworth Creek causes aquatic life water-quality standards to be exceeded at the mouth of Leavenworth Creek.
OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of this project are to:
- Evaluate the magnitude of diel variations of zinc in Leavenworth Creek.
- Conduct a spatially-detailed synoptic mass-loading study to assess ...
Upper Arkansas Toxic-Substances Hydrology
Since 1986, the USGS Hard-Rock Mining Toxic-Substances Hydrology Project has focused on metal transport in streams affected by mining.
The approach is to study chemical processes within a hydrologic context, using a two-step approach:
- First, the USGS used instream experimentation to provide data about the processes affecting metals.
- Second, the USGS used the ...
Sources of Metal Loading to the Lake Fork from Turquoise Lake to the confluence with the Arkansas River
The Lake Fork emerges from the outlet of Turquoise Lake at the Sugarloaf dam and flows approximately 5 miles before joining the upper Arkansas River. The first reach of the Lake Fork downstream from the dam is affected by drainage from abandoned mines in the Sugarloaf mining district. Whereas remediation of some of the mine sites has been initiated, Federal Land holders are interested in...
Effects of Fluvial Tailings Deposits on Receiving Waters in the Upper Arkansas River Basin, Lake County, Colorado
Fluvial tailings deposits stored in the floodplain of the upper Arkansas River represent a potential nonpoint source of contamination to surface and ground waters. The U.S. Geological Survey has been cooperating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to monitor a lowcost, insitu remediation technique for the deposits. Remediation of selected sites occurred in 1998 through 2000 by...
Upper Animas River Basin Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative
The USGS Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative (AMLI) is developing and demonstrating scientific knowledge and technologies that will help Federal land management agencies clean up contamination in areas near abandoned hardrock mines across the Nation. The Initiative is being conducted in two pilot watersheds, the Upper Animas River Basin in Colorado and the...
Water-quality data for stream and hyporheic zone samples altered by injection of sodium bromide tracer during a synoptic-sampling study, Leavenworth Creek, Clear Creek County, Colorado, 2012
Leavenworth Creek, a tributary of South Clear Creek and Clear Creek near Georgetown, Colorado contains copper, lead, and zinc concentrations that are near to or exceed aquatic life standards. The creek drains the Argentine mining district where mining was active primarily in the early 1900s. In the summer of 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a metal-loading study us
Water-quality and discharge data from draining mine tunnels near Silverton, Colorado 1988-2015
The American Tunnel, the Black Hawk mine, the Gold King mine, the Mogul mine, and the Red and Bonita mine are located in the Cement Creek watershed, tributary to the upper Animas River near Silverton, Colorado. All five sites have tunnels that drain groundwater from abandoned underground mine workings to the surface. This draining water has elevated concentrations of metals and degrad
Model Archive Summary for Suspended-Sediment Concentration at U.S. Geological Survey Site 09132095; Anthracite Creek above Mouth near Somerset, Colorado
This model archive summary documents the suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) model developed to estimate 15-minute SSC at Anthracite Creek above Mouth near Somerset, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) site number 09132095. The methods used follow USGS guidance as referenced in relevant Office of Surface Water Technical Memorandum (TM) 2016.07 and Office of Water Quality TM 2016.10,
Model Archive Summary for Suspended-Sediment Concentration at U.S. Geological Survey Site 385553107243301; North Fork Gunnison below Raven Gulch near Somerset, Colorado
This model archive summary documents the suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) model developed to estimate 15-minute SSC at North Fork Gunnison River below Raven Gulch, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) site number 385553107243301. The methods used follow USGS guidance as referenced in relevant Office of Surface Water/Office of Water Quality Technical Memoranda and USGS Techniques and M
Model Archive Summary for Suspended-Sediment Concentration at U.S. Geological Survey Site 385903107210800; Muddy Creek above Paonia Reservoir, Colorado
This model archive summary documents the suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) model developed to estimate 15-minute SSC at Muddy Creek above Paonia Reservoir, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) site number 385903107210800. The methods used follow USGS guidance as referenced in relevant Office of Surface Water Technical Memorandum (TM) 2016.07 and Office of Water Quality TM 2016.10,
Improved enrichment factor calculations through principal component analysis: Examples from soils near breccia pipe uranium mines, Arizona, USA
The enrichment factor (EF) is a widely used metric for determining how much the presence of an element in a sampling media has increased relative to average natural abundance because of human activity. Calculation of an EF requires the selection of both a background composition and a reference element, choices that can strongly influence the...
Bern, Carleton R.; Walton-Day, Katie; Naftz, David L.Cinnamon gulch revisited: Another look at separating natural and mining-impacted contributions to instream metal load
Baseline, premining data for streams draining abandoned mine lands is virtually non existent, and indirect methods for estimating premining conditions are needed to establish realistic, cost effective cleanup goals. One such indirect method is the proximal analog approach, in which premining conditions are estimated using data from nearby...
Runkel, Robert L.; Verplanck, Philip L.; Kimball, Briant; Walton-Day, KatieSynoptic sampling and principal components analysis to identify sources of water and metals to an acid mine drainage stream
Combining the synoptic mass balance approach with principal components analysis (PCA) can be an effective method for discretising the chemistry of inflows and source areas in watersheds where contamination is diffuse in nature and/or complicated by groundwater interactions. This paper presents a field-scale study in which synoptic sampling and PCA...
Byrne, Patrick; Runkel, Robert L.; Walton-Day, KatieGeochemistry and hydrology of perched groundwater springs: assessing elevated uranium concentrations at Pigeon Spring relative to nearby Pigeon Mine, Arizona (USA)
The processes that affect water chemistry as the water flows from recharge areas through breccia-pipe uranium deposits in the Grand Canyon region of the southwestern United States are not well understood. Pigeon Spring had elevated uranium in 1982 (44 μg/L), compared to other perched springs (2.7–18 μg/L), prior to mining operations at the nearby...
Beisner, Kimberly R.; Paretti, Nicholas V.; Tillman, Fred; Naftz, David L.; Bills, Donald J.; Walton-Day, Katie; Gallegos, Tanya J.The precipitation of indium at elevated pH in a stream influenced by acid mine drainage
Indium is an increasingly important metal in semiconductors and electronics and has uses in important energy technologies such as photovoltaic cells and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). One significant flux of indium to the environment is from lead, zinc, copper, and tin mining and smelting, but little is known about its aqueous behavior after it is...
White, Sarah Jane O.; Hussain, Fatima A.; Hemond, Harold F.; Sacco, Sarah A.; Shine, James P.; Runkel, Robert L.; Walton-Day, Katherine; Kimball, Briant A.Effects of flow regime on metal concentrations and the attainment of water quality standards in a remediated stream reach, Butte, Montana
Low-flow synoptic sampling campaigns are often used as the primary tool to characterize watersheds affected by mining. Although such campaigns are an invaluable part of site characterization, investigations which focus solely on low-flow conditions may yield misleading results. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate this point and elucidate...
Runkel, Robert L.; Kimball, Briant A.; Nimick, David A.; Walton-Day, KatherineEstablishing a pre-mining geochemical baseline at a uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park, USA
During 2012, approximately 404,000 ha of Federal Land in northern Arizona was withdrawn from consideration of mineral extraction for a 20-year period to protect the Grand Canyon watershed from potentially adverse effects of U mineral exploration and development. The development, operation, and reclamation of the Canyon Mine during the withdrawal...
Naftz, David L.; Walton-Day, KatherineHydrogeochemical effects of a bulkhead in the Dinero mine tunnel, Sugar Loaf mining district, near Leadville, Colorado
The Dinero mine drainage tunnel is an abandoned, draining mine adit near Leadville, Colorado, that has an adverse effect on downstream water quality and aquatic life. In 2009, a bulkhead was constructed (creating a mine pool and increasing water-table elevations behind the tunnel) to limit drainage from the tunnel and improve downstream water...
Walton-Day, Katherine; Mills, Taylor J.Geologic sources and concentrations of selenium in the West-Central Denver Basin, including the Toll Gate Creek watershed, Aurora, Colorado, 2003-2007
Toll Gate Creek, in the west-central part of the Denver Basin, is a perennial stream in which concentrations of dissolved selenium have consistently exceeded the Colorado aquatic-life standard of 4.6 micrograms per liter. Recent studies of selenium in Toll Gate Creek identified the Denver lignite zone of the non-marine Cretaceous to Tertiary-aged...
Paschke, Suzanne S.; Walton-Day, Katherine; Beck, Jennifer A.; Webbers, Ank; Dupree, Jean A.Streamflow and water-quality conditions including geologic sources and processes affecting selenium loading in the Toll Gate Creek watershed, Aurora, Arapahoe County, Colorado, 2007
Toll Gate Creek is a perennial stream draining a suburban area in Aurora, Colorado, where selenium concentrations have consistently exceeded the State of Colorado aquatic-life standard for selenium of 4.6 micrograms per liter since the early 2000s. In cooperation with the City of Aurora, Colorado, Utilities Department, a synoptic water-quality...
Paschke, Suzanne S.; Runkel, Robert L.; Walton-Day, Katherine; Kimball, Briant A.; Schaffrath, Keelin R.Automated quantitative micro-mineralogical characterization for environmental applications
Characterization of ore and waste-rock material using automated quantitative micro-mineralogical techniques (e.g., QEMSCAN® and MLA) has the potential to complement traditional acid-base accounting and humidity cell techniques when predicting acid generation and metal release. These characterization techniques, which most commonly are used for...
Smith, Kathleen S.; Hoal, K.O.; Walton-Day, Katherine; Stammer, J.G.; Pietersen, K.Estimating instream constituent loads using replicate synoptic sampling, Peru Creek, Colorado
The synoptic mass balance approach is often used to evaluate constituent mass loading in streams affected by mine drainage. Spatial profiles of constituent mass load are used to identify sources of contamination and prioritize sites for remedial action. This paper presents a field scale study in which replicate synoptic sampling campaigns are used...
Runkel, Robert L.; Walton-Day, Katherine; Kimball, Briant A.; Verplanck, Philip L.; Nimick, David A.Pre-USGS Publications
USGS Scientists Study Effects of Gold King Mine Release
On August 5, while investigating the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency accidentally triggered the release of approximately three million gallons of acidic, metal-rich mine wastewater from the Gold King Mine into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River.