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Bruce Waddell

Publications and source records attributed to Bruce Waddell.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2003

Selenium contamination and remediation at Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area and Ashley Creek, middle Green River basin, Utah

Selenium is an element required in trace amounts for human and animal health, but it can cause health problems for livestock, wildlife, and humans when ingested in higher-than-required concentrations. Incidences of mortality, birth defects, and reproductive failure in waterfowl were discovered at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, San Joaquin Valley, California, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1983 (Presser, 1994). These problems were attributed to elevated concentrations of selenium in irrigation drainage that discharged to the refuge. Because of concern about possible adverse effects from irrigation drainage on Department of the Interior (DOI) projects elsewhere in the United States, the DOI organized scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), USFWS, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to form the National Irrigation Water-Quality Program (NIWQP). The objectives of the program are to investigate DOI-managed lands for potential contamination related to irrigation drainage, conduct studies to identify the problems, investigate methodologies to remediate those problems, and implement remediation plans (U.S. Department of the Interior, 2002).

Utah↗
USGS2002

Hydrologic, sediment, and biological data associated with irrigation drainage in the middle Green River basin, Utah and Colorado, water years 1991-2000

Hydrologic, sediment, and biological data were collected in the middle Green River basin in eastern Utah from 1991 to 2000 in an effort to monitor the effects of irrigation drainage on wetland areas and streams, aid in the development of remediation plans, and evaluate the effectiveness of selenium remediation efforts at Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area (WMA). Data consist primarily of selenium concentrations in surface water, ground water, bottom sediment, and biological samples. Supporting hydrologic data include field measurements of temperature, pH, specific conductance, water levels in wells, and discharge at surface-water sites. Selected water samples also were analyzed for major ions, trace elements, nutrients, and gross alpha and beta radiation. The concentration of selected selenium species is reported for several bottom-sediment samples from Stewart Lake WMA and the concentration of total selenium in suspended-sediment samples from the area are included. Well logs for six wells installed at Stewart Lake WMA are presented along with trace-element data for several biological samples collected at selected sites throughout the middle Green River basin.

Colorado, Utah, Wyoming↗
USGS1991

Physical, chemical, and biological data for detailed study of irrigation drainage in the Middle Green River basin, Utah 1988-89, with selected data for 1982-87

Physical, chemical, and biological data were collected in the middle Green River basin, eastern Utah, between 1988 and 1989, as part of a detailed study of the effects of irrigation drainage on wetland areas. Data-collection efforts were concentrated in the Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area near Jensen, and Ouray National Wildlife Refuge near Ouray. Data also were collected from Ashley Creek near Vernal, Pelican Lake near Ouray, and in Pariette Wetlands near Myton. A limited quantity of data collected during earlier studies (1982-87), funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, also is included. This report contains data needed to assess the effects of selenium and other potentially toxic contaminants on streams and wetlands. Data consist of concentrations of trace elements and common elements in samples of water, sediment, plants, waterfowl, birds, fish, and invertebrates. Other data presented in the report are ground-water levels, surface-water discharges, radiochemical constituents in water, analyses of organochlorine compounds in biota, and morphonetric measurements of biota.

Utah↗
USGS1988

Reconnaissance investigation of water quality, bottom sediment, and biota associated with irrigation drainage in the middle Green River basin, Utah, 1986-87

Reconnaissance of wildlife areas in the middle Green River basin of Utah was conducted during 1986 and 1987 to determine whether irrigation drainage has caused, or has the potential to cause significant harmful effects on human health, fish, and wildlife, or may adversely affect the suitability of water for beneficial uses. Studies at Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area and Ouray National Wildlife Refuge indicated that concentrations of boron, selenium, and zinc in water, bottom sediment, and biological tissue were sufficiently large to be harmful to fish and wildlife, and to adversely affect beneficial uses of water. Selenium is the principal element of concern in both areas. Concentrations of dissolved selenium in irrigation drain water entering Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area ranged from 14-140 micrograms/L (ug/L) and consistently exceeded Utah standards for wildlife protection in water in two of the four drains. Concentrations of boron and zinc exceeded Utah standards only occasionally in the drain waters. Concentrations of total selenium in sediments collected where the drains discharge into the lake were 10-85 ug/gm. Liver tissue collected from American coots at Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area contained concentrations of selenium from 4.9-26 ug/gm (dry weight), and whole body samples of carp contained as much as 31 ug/gm (dry weight). Concentrations of selenium in Potamogeton and blue-green algae ranged from 2.1-27 ug/gm. Concentrations of boron, selenium, and zinc were also measured in water from Ouray National Wildlife Refuge. Liver tissue of American coots from the North Roadside Pond, which receives irrigation tailwater, contained a geometric-mean concentration of selenium of 32 ug/gm (dry weight). Five water-bird eggs collected from the North and South Roadside Ponds contained selenium concentrations of 63-120 ug/gm (dry weight). (Lantz-PTT)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1988

Irrigation drainage: Green River basin, Utah

A reconnaissance of wildlife areas in the middle Green River basin of Utah during 1986-87 determined that concentrations of selenium in water and biological tissues were potentially harmful to wildlife at the Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area and in the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge. Concentations of selenium in irrigation drainage entering Stewart Lake ranged from 14 to 140 micrograms per liter; liver tissue from coots collected from the lake contained selenium concentrations of as much as 26 micrograms per gram and samples of tissue from carp contained as much as 31 micrograms per gram. Concentrations of selenium in a pond at the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, which receives irrigation water and shallow ground water, were as much as 93 micrograms per liter. Liver tissue from coots collected from this pond contained selenium concentrations of as much as 43 micrograms per gram; eggs of water birds contained as much as 120 micrograms per gram.

Conference Paper↗