WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS OF THE NEOSHO RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES FROM THE PICHER, OKLAHOMA SECTION OF THE HISTORIC TRI-STATE MINING DISTRICT

The Tri-State mining district is an area of abandoned lead and zinc mining covering portions of Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. The area was mined for approximately 100 years from the 1870’s until the 1970’s. The mining produced large amounts of waste rock known as ‘chat’ which has been left in surface waste piles around the mines. These waste piles, located mostly in Oklahoma near the town of Picher, contain Pb, Zn and other elements that were not removed during mining. Surface water can leach these hazardous elements from the rocks and then contaminate local stream systems. Underground abandoned mines can also flood in heavy rain events and seep into streams and groundwater. Due to the hazardous nature of the abandoned mines near Picher it was established as a Superfund Site by the EPA.

The purpose of our research is to analyze the impact of the Picher mine tailings on element abundance in local streams and evaluate extent of contamination relative to the distance from mined areas. Sampling began along Spring River and Tar Creek in the Kansas portion of the Tri-State Mining District to use as a baseline for surface water entering the Picher mining area. Sampling continued at sites along these two systems as well as Lytle Creek and the Neosho River in the Picher mining area and downstream. At all sampling locations field water parameters were collected along with water samples for anions, cations, and trace metals. The results were evaluated based on distance from the mining activity along each river system, as well as chemical constituents released from the mine tailings. Anions, such as fluoride, chloride, and sulfate, reached their highest concentrations closest to and downstream from the main mining area in Picher. Locations nearest to the mining had the highest concentrations of sulfate, between 320ppm and 585ppm, with no other location sampled over 70ppm. Measuring the contaminants released from the mining regions relative to distance from the mining region will outline the extent of water quality impacts from the mining region.