Book Description

Fly ash from the 527-MW Coal-fired Columbia Generating Station Unit I (Columbia Co., Wisconsin) is discharged as a slurry into an adjacent ashpit. Water from the ashpit is pumped to a ditch that joins the ashpit drain and Rocky Run Creek before they reach the Wisconsin River. Habitat alterations have been noted as relatively minor changes in water quality parameters (e.g., alkalinity, hardness, pH, and turbidity), as increased amounts of some dissolved trace elements (Cr, Ba, Al, Cd, and Cu), and as the precipitation of trace elements (Al, Ba, and Cr) into a floc that coats the stream bottoms. The ashpit drain became an unsuitable habitat for aquatic invertebrates after Columbia I began operating. Rocky Run Creek is still a suitable habitat for many aquatic invertebrates, but evidence of sublethal stresses and habitat avoidance exists.