Portneuf River (Idaho) - Biogeochemistry of The Portneuf River Watershed

Biogeochemistry of The Portneuf River Watershed

The Portneuf River watershed is a heavily used and anthropogenically altered system. After a series of heavy floods in the early 1960s the Army Corps of Engineers designed and constructed a concrete channel to control flooding in 1965. The channelization followed the river's route and cut through the west side of Pocatello, and drastically altering the natural river processes. One common result of human activity is the loading of nutrients into the water system through both point and non-point sources. The river is subjected to use by four municipalities (Lava Hot Springs, McCammon, Inkom, and Pocatello) over its length. The dynamic geology of the region and the heavy use by the local populations have produced a unique set of chemical characteristics associated with both the biological processes and the interactions with the local geology.