Region 8: Monitoring Impacts of Mines on Surface Water on Tribal Lands

2019 Regional-State-Tribal Innovation Projects

It is estimated that there are more than 500,000 abandoned mine sites in the United States, primarily in the west. These mining sites pose substantial challenges for Federal, state and tribal regulators to conduct cost-effective monitoring of surface water impacts. Monitoring impacts of mine sites is quite difficult and costly, due to complex groundwater and surface water interactions. Currently, state and tribal monitoring programs often can only sample a few wells over multiple years.  This project will deploy a dense network of sensors that can continuously provide accurate water quality measurements with high spatial resolution to improve remediation efforts. Building on a successful demonstration project in Colorado last year, the project will use geophysical methods and low-cost sensors (i.e., for parameters like pH, conductivity, and temperature) to provide high density information on groundwater transport and discharges to surface water. Best practices will be captured and shared with key partners to improve strategies and lower costs associated with these mitigation efforts.