Report: Cleanup Has Improved Basin

Cleaning up historic mining waste is paying dividends for water quality in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin, according to a new report published by the U.S. Geological Survey. The report looked at two decades of water quality data for the Coeur d’Alene River and its tributaries. Since the early 1990s, concentrations of lead, cadmium and zinc have dropped by 65 percent in the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River near Pinehurst. Other streams also showed improvements in water quality, though most streams continued to exceed standards for heavy metals, which are designed to protect fish and other aquatic creatures from toxic exposure/ Becky Kramer , SR. More here.