Surface-Water/Ground-Water Interaction of the Spokane River and the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, Idaho and Washington
Rodney R. Caldwell and Craig L. Bowers
Abstract
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.
View Water-Resources Investigation Report 03-4239 PDF (2.5 MB)
Suggested Citation
Caldwell, R.R. and Bowers, C.L., 2003, Surface-water/ground-water interaction of the Spokane River and the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, Idaho and Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigation Report Report 03-4239, 60 p.
