Reconnaissance investigation of water quality, bottom sediment, and biota associated with irrigation drainage in the Belle Fourche Reclamation Project, western South Dakota, 1988-89. Water Resources Investigation

The U.S. Department of the Interior initiated nine reconnaissance investigations during 1986-87 in response to nationwide concern about harmful effects of irrigation drainage on human health, fish, and wildlife. The investigation of the Belle Fourche Reclamation Project in western South Dakota is one of ten additional reconnaissance investigations conducted during 1988-89. The U.S. Geological Survey collected a total of thirty surface-water-quality samples during April, June, August, and October 1988. Six to ten sites were sampled during each sampling period. An additional 40 surface-water-quality samples were collected at three of the sites during October 1987 through April 1989, and these results are included in the discussion. Bottom sediment was collected at eight of the ten water-sampling sites. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service collected fish samples at three sites during the spring and fall; samples of bird livers and bird eggs were collected at five sites during the summer; and samples of benthic invertebrates and aquatic plants were collected at six sites during the summer