Grantee Research Project Results
2003 Progress Report: Fate and Transport of Metals and Sediment in Surface Water
EPA Grant Number: R829515C002Subproject: this is subproject number 002 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R829515
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: HSRC (1989) - Great Plains/Rocky Mountain HSRC
Center Director: Erickson, Larry E.
Title: Fate and Transport of Metals and Sediment in Surface Water
Investigators: Julien, Pierre , Bledsoe, Brian P. , Watson, Chester , Stein, Otto
Institution: Colorado State University , Montana State University - Bozeman
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: November 1, 2001 through October 31, 2003
Project Period Covered by this Report: November 1, 2002 through October 31, 2003
Project Amount: Refer to main center abstract for funding details.
RFA: Hazardous Substance Research Centers - HSRC (2001) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Land and Waste Management
Objective:
The main objectives of this research project are to: (1) develop a methodology for evaluating impacts from sediment and metals on watersheds; and (2) improve and develop computer modeling tools for the simulation of erosion and sedimentation of sediment and metals in surface waters. This research focuses on surface water and sediment transport, with an emphasis on the fate and transport of metals in rivers from mining waste sites. The ultimate goal of our research is to improve our mechanistic understanding of the interaction between heavy metals and fine sediment.
Progress Summary:
Recognizing that the transport of particles typically is independent of transport from other sources, the sediment transport algorithms in CASC2D-SED, an existing sediment and fate transport model developed by the principal investigator for watersheds, were extended to permit simulation of an unlimited number of particle types. The extension allows soil and sediment particles and associated particulate chemicals from different source areas, such as mine waste piles, to be simulated as independent constituents while allowing the total delivery of particles and associated chemicals to be simulated as the sum of all particle types.
The CASC2D-SED framework was applied to the California Gulch Superfund site located in Lake County, CO, near the city of Leadville. California Gulch covers an area of 30.6 km2, is within the Arkansas River watershed, and contains approximately 2,000 mine waste piles that serve as potential sources of contaminated sediments that can migrate into the Arkansas River, resulting in water quality and habitat impairments. The metals simulated included copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), and zinc (Zn), all of which are major components of the impairment. The application of CASC2D-SED to California Gulch was developed from raster data that described ground elevation, land use, soil type, and surface mineralogy (AVIRIS remote sensing data). These data were supplemented by field measurements of metals concentrations and other properties of soil samples collected from waste piles across the site.
Assuming that transport was restricted to particulate materials, model outputs indicate that wastes from piles located throughout the watershed contribute to significant downstream delivery of Cu, Cd, and Zn. Also, the in-stream concentration levels of transported metals would cause significant biological impairments across the site and may be a major component of the toxicity observed at a downstream monitoring site on the Arkansas River.
Future Activities:
All original objectives have been completed.
Supplemental Keywords:
groundwater, sediments, environmental chemistry, geochemistry, toxicology, remediation, metal mobility, subsurface, microbiology, industry sectors, waste, water, contaminated sediments, ecological risk assessment, ecology, ecosystems, environmental engineering, geology, hazardous, hazardous waste, mining-NAIC 21, remediation, copper, cadmium, zinc, arsenic, selenium, acid mine drainage, acid mine runoff, aquatic ecosystems, contaminant transport, contaminated marine sediment, contaminated waste sites, field monitoring, groundwater, heavy metals, mining, mining impacted runoff, sediment transport, stream ecosystems, suspended sediment., RFA, Industry Sectors, Scientific Discipline, Waste, Contaminated Sediments, Remediation, Mining - NAIC 21, Hazardous Waste, Ecology and Ecosystems, Ecological Risk Assessment, Environmental Engineering, Hazardous, risk assessment, contaminant transport, contaminated waste sites, contaminated marine sediment, contaminated sites, acid mine drainage, remediation technologies, runoff, sediment transport, stream ecosystems, metal release, computer modeling, field monitoring, mining, leaching of toxic metals, metals-contaminated soil, treatment, aquatic ecosystems, metal wastes, heavy metal contamination, heavy metals, mining wastes, metals, groundwater, acid mine runoffRelevant Websites:
http://www.engr.colostate.edu/hsrc/ Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractMain Center Abstract and Reports:
R829515 HSRC (1989) - Great Plains/Rocky Mountain HSRC Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R829515C001 Redox Transformations, Complexation and Soil/Sediment
Interactions of Inorganic Forms of As and Se in Aquatic Environments: Effects
of Natural Organic Matter
R829515C002 Fate and Transport of Metals and Sediment in Surface Water
R829515C003 Metal Removal Capabilities of Passive Bioreactor Systems: Effects of Organic Matter and Microbial Population Dynamics
R829515C004 Evaluating Recovery of Stream Ecosystems from Mining Pollution:
Integrating Biochemical, Population, Community and Ecosystem Indicators
R829515C005 Rocky Mountain Regional Hazardous Substance Research Center
Training and Technology Transfer Program
R829515C006 Technical Outreach Services for Communities and Technical Assistance to Brownfields
R829515C007 Evaluation of Hydrologic Models for Alternative Covers at Mine Waste Sites
R829515C008 Microbial Reduction of Uranium in Mine Leachate by Fermentative and Iron-Reducing Bacteria
R829515C009 Development and Characterization of Microbial Inocula for High-Performance Passive Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage
R829515C010 Reactive Transport Modeling of Metal Removal From Anaerobic Biozones
R829515C011 Assessment of Electrokinetic Injection of Amendments for Remediation of Acid Mine Drainage
R829515C012 Metal Toxicity Thresholds for Important Reclamation Plant Species of the Rocky Mountains
R829515C013 An Improved Method for Establishing Water Quality Criteria for Mining Impacted Streams
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.