Interactions of Mining and Water Resource Systems in the Southeastern Idaho Phosphate Field

摘要

Hydrologic and mining related variables were identified and their interaction evaluated to promote effective resource development balanced with conservation management in the Western Phosphate Field located in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. Several phases were involved in the study: the delineation of hydrologic and mining related variables, data collection and analysis from selected sites in Idaho, and the construction of models showing variable interaction. Various groups of environmental foactors interacting to shape the water resource systems in the area include: geologic, topographic, hydrologic, climatic, chemical, and biotic. Two mining activities, open pits and waste piles, were found to have gains and losses and the locations of springs confirmed a pattern of hydrogeologic characteristics, the 'phosphate sequence', which occurs throughout the area involving groundwater flow. Two mine areas were studied in detail to obtain additional hydrogeologic insight on flow patterns.