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WATER QUALITY STATUS REPORT, CROOKED RIVER, IDAHO COUNTY IDAHO, 1987
Description:
Crooked River (17060305), a primary anadromous fisheries resource, is located approximately 120 miles southeast of Lewiston, Idaho. Dredging operations between 1936 and 1948 left large piles of gravel in the natural watercourse, causing the river to meander. Impoundments of water now exist which are fed by infiltration from the river and surface runoff. A number of the ponds do not have direct surface flow to Crooked River. Fisheries biologists from the Nezperce National Forest are considering the realignment of the existing stream channel, including connecting 6 ponds to Crooked River by constructing 500 feet of new channel and modifying 1000 feet of intermittent channel. A test fisheries enhancement project was completed during 1987 to determine if the distrubance of dredge ponds and spoils would mobilize any toxic levels of chemicals to Crooked River. During 1986 and 1987, total and dissolved water column concentrations of Ar, Cu, Hg, Ag, and Zn in Crooked River and adjacent dredge ponds were below detection limits. Total Fe exceeded EPA freshwater criteria for aquatic life, but only during the construction phase of the fish enhancement project. A concurrent EPA study found dredge pond bottom sediments for Ar, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Hg, and Zn to be below EPA 95th percentile concentrations. Also, in-situ bioassay produced no acute toxic effects on steelhead trout or chinook salmon young-of-the-year. Mann, H. and M.P. Vol Lindern. 1988. Water Quality Status Report No. 80. Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Environmental Quality, Boise, ID. 34 pp.