Floods Bring Million Pounds Of Lead To Lake More Than Eight Times The Amount That Washed Downstream In 1994

More than a million pounds of lead washed down the Coeur d’Alene River into Lake Coeur d’Alene during the Feb. 10 flooding, according to the U.S. Geological Service.

That’s more than eight times the amount of lead that washed downstream during the entire year of 1994 and double the amount in 1993.

The long-awaited data inspired environmentalists to call for action and mining representatives to downplay any alarm over the figures.

“This is not a human health concern,” said Holly Houston, executive director of the Mining Information Office. She emphasized that the percentage of metals in the total amount of sediment washed into the lake was minimal.

“I don’t think people should be concerned,” said Matt Fein of Hecla Mining Co. “There’s no evidence that this is a threat to human health or that this is a threat to fish.”

But Bob Bostwick, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s press secretary, said it is well-documented that the heavy metals do pose a health risk and are “wiping out waterfowl.

“More of it’s coming into the lake, and more of it’s going down to Spokane,” he said. “What the flood did was bring the danger a little more in our laps.”

Scott Brown of the Idaho Conservation League was more strident, saying, “It’s time to get serious about preventing flooding and cleaning up the mining pollution. That means forest restoration, not devastation, and money on the table for metals removal.”

The USGS data, collected during the less-than-ideal conditions of heavy flooding, was released Wednesday during a meeting of the Coeur d’Alene Basin Interagency Group, a group of scientists, mining representatives and others involved in cleaning up the polluted area outside the Silver Valley’s Superfund site.

The flood earned North Idaho the designation as a disaster area and was the third largest flood on record for the area.

The debris going down the river made official sampling techniques too dangerous to attempt in some instances, said Mike Beckwith, a USGS scientist.

“We sampled as we saw fit; a bucket off the bridge,” Beckwith said. Even then, “we almost got drug off the bridge.”

Beckwith was hesitant to draw any conclusions from his data except to say that the flood could transport the same amount of material that normally would take years to wash downstream.

Most the metals that were swept downstream from contaminated river banks and bottoms were carried by massive amounts of sediment.

More lead was found to be transported than zinc, probably because lead is more likely to attach to sediment, he said.

Some scientists at the meeting suggested that most of the sediment was deposited on the lake bottom within a mile of Harrison, where the Coeur d’Alene River enters the lake.

The river contributes about 40 percent of the lake’s water, while the St. Joe River contributes about 60 percent.

But judging by the lake’s discoloration for months after the flooding, and water quality tests by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, some of the sediment and metals were floating around the lake.

The DEQ issued a health warning this spring after lead levels exceeded federal drinking water standards for the first time.

At one drinking water well site, lead levels still are elevated, but drinkable if the water is properly treated, said Geoff Harvey, a DEQ senior surface water analyst.

Some of the suspended metals probably washed down the Spokane River because Lake Coeur d’Alene has a relatively high turnover rate, Harvey said.

The metals shouldn’t be a concern to people swimming in the lake, he said. A person would have to ingest a large amount of contaminated water to suffer the effects of lead poisoning.

The Chain Lakes area, however, continues to be highly contaminated.

The USGS found that some of the highest amounts of metals between Rose Lake and Harrison.

Most of it washed past Bob and Marcella Hanson’s home in the Chain Lakes area on Feb. 9. Some of it no doubt settled on their property when the flood waters receded.

The elderly couple said they weren’t terribly surprised by the news.

“For us it’s a matter of common sense, when people are out recreating on the lead plain, er, flood plain,” Bob Hanson said.

Most camping and picnic areas and boat launches along the chain lakes have posted health warnings.

Marti Calabretta, the cleanup coordinator for the Silver Valley Natural Resource Trustees, called the USGS findings a “wake-up call” for continued cleanup up and down the Coeur d’Alene River system.

, DataTimes