Water Resources of Idaho

Surface-Water/Ground-Water Interaction of the Spokane River and the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, Idaho and Washington
by Rodney R. Caldwell and Craig L. Bowers

Water Resources-Investigations Report 03-4239

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Elevated trace metals in water and sediment in the Spokane River have raised concerns about potential contamination of ground water in the underlying Spokane valley/Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, the primary source of drinking water for the city of Spokane and surrounding areas. The featured report describes, and presents a conceptual model of hydrologic and chemical interactions between the Spokane River and the aquifer along a losing reach of the river studied during 1999-2001. Among the topics discussed are river stage; ground-water levels; water temperature; specific conductance; and major-ion, stable-isotope, and trace-element concentrations.

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