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The Milltown Dam on the Clark Fork River.

Since 1908, flow of the Clark Fork River has been interrupted just downstream of its confluence with the Blackfoot River by the Milltown Dam. Since then, the reservoir has been a sink for contaminated sediment from upstream mining and smelting. An estimated 6.6 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment are in the reservoir today. This sediment is the source of arsenic found in the drinking water supply of Milltown and the reason for Superfund designation of the site. In early 1996, the EPA had a plan to clean up the site, leaving the sediments in place. This plan changed when a large ice jam broke loose on the Blackfoot River. Operators, concerned that the ice would damage the dam, opened the floodgates, sending a large volume of contaminated sediment downstream. The result was a disastrous fish kill downstream of the dam.

The confluence of the Clark Fork River and the Blackfoot River.

In addition to the fish kill, the dam created a larger concern for the region's migratory fish. Its 39-foot spillway is a complete barrier to upstream migration of 11 fish species, and the reservoir has been home to northern pike, which seasonally prey on migrating fish stopped by the dam. Of most concern are migratory populations of native westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout, whose populations have declined in number and size in the last century across their range--particularly near Milltown Dam. In 1998, bull trout were listed as threatened, which later influenced discussions to remove the dam and some of its contaminated sediments as an alternative to the EPA's Superfund cleanup plan. The classification of the dam as "high-hazard" by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission further influenced the decision.

In 2000 and 2001, investigations by David Schmetterling of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks had significant influence on the final decision to remove Milltown Dam. Schmetterling studied migratory fish movements and spawning following transport around the dam. Using a fish trap at Milltown Dam, westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout were transported upstream of Milltown Dam and implanted with radio transmitters. Most of the transported fish continued upstream to spawn, and many migrations exceeded 60 miles. Although migrations have been stopped for almost a century, the fish showed a high degree of fidelity, presumably returning to their natal streams. It was decided that manual trapping and transportation of migratory fishes was too expensive and could be stressful to the fish. Reestablishing connectivity of the river system, through removal of the dam, would have far-reaching effects on fish of all types and would significantly benefit declining populations of westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout upstream of the dam.

The Clark Fork River.

In 2003, the EPA, Governor Judy Martz and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality made a proposal for sediment cleanup and dam removal. In 2005, the EPA, the State of Montana, ARCO, and NorthWestern Energy issued a final plan to excavate some of the sediments, remove all of the dam structures, and restore the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers near the Milltown Dam. To date, the water in the reservoir has been drawn down over ten feet, allowing for the initial stages of construction of a bypass channel, which will transport river flow around the contaminated sediment while it is being removed. Contaminated sediments excavated from the site will be transported upstream to Opportunity Ponds. Plans call for the dam to be removed by early 2008. Removal of contaminated sediments and restoration of the river channel upstream of the dam is in the design phase.

For a job description and application information, please email Sue Faber at sfaber@montana.edu, or call 406-994-6690.

NAWQA's Data Warehouse integrates more than 11 million records on water quality, ecology, and hydrology across the Nation--providing one of the largest nationally-consistent, on-line collections of water-quality data and associated information available (see: http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/data). It contains information on:

• Chemical concentrations in water, sediment, and aquatic-organism tissues and related quality-control data for 2,000 chemicals from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS)
• Biological community data for about 16,000 algae, fish and invertebrate samples
• 8,000 stream sites, 8,000 wells, and associated site and basin information
• Daily streamflow and temperature information from NWIS for selected sampling sites

For questions about the NAWQA Data Warehouse, contact Sandy Williamson at 253-552-1683 or akwill@usgs.gov. For printed copies of the Fact Sheet, contact Carise Barbour at (703) 648-5716 or cbarbour@usgs.gov.

Do you have more news?

Take special note of upcoming national and local water meetings on the Events Calendar at MONTANA WATER.

2007 Coolwater Fish Culture Workshop, Allamuchy, NJ, January 7 - 9, 2007 [INFO]

13th Annual Whirling Disease Symposium, Denver, CO, February 12 - 13, 2007 [INFO]

2007 AFS Idaho Chapter Annual Meeting, Boise, ID, February 21 - 23, 2007 [INFO]