JBR's Keith White Presents On The Chalk Creek Waterhsed Project At The 2009 Nevada Water Resources Association

At the 2009 Nevada Water Resources Association Truckee River Symposium held at Desert Research Institute in Reno, NV on Tuesday November 3-5, Keith White presented information on the Chalk Creek Watershed Assessment and Sulfate Reducing Wetland Pilot Project. Chalk Creek is listed on the 303d list of impaired waterbodies, and is a source of elevated Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), total nitrogen, and total phosphorus to the Truckee River, which has established Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)s for those constituents. The watershed assessment identified likely flow, TDS, and nutrient sources and provided information to determine possible mitigation measures. The elevated TDS was found to be primarily sulfate, which is leaching from substrate as a result of irrigation infiltration in this recently developed watershed. A pilot scale wetland is designed to reduce sulfate using sulfate reducing bacteria in a subsurface, anaerobic wetland. Results from the project will help determine the viability of creating a larger treatment wetland for the watershed, and reduction of TDS and nutrient loading to the Truckee River for the benefit of the non-point source reduction component of the Truckee River TMDL. 

About JBR
JBR Environmental Consultants, Inc. is an environmental consulting firm serving both public and private clients throughout the West. Founded in 1985 in Sandy, Utah, the firm employs over 120 professionals in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. JBR’s wide range of services includes natural resource management; environmental engineering and science; and regulatory compliance consulting. For more information, please visit our website at www.jbrenv.com.

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