Bodie Creek - Metals
H.U. 630.20
Bodie Creek is located in the Bodie Hills, a group of mountains east of the Sierra Nevada at the western edge of the Great Basin. The Creek was first included on the 1991 Section 303(d) list for impairment due to metals. The data that supported this listing was a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 1990 Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Report (RMP/EIR). The RMP/EIR cited mercury and arsenic exceedances in the creek and described historical mining impacts in the Bodie State Historic Park (BSHP) vicinity.
Beneficial Uses ascribed to Bodie Creek:
- Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN)
- Agriculture Supply (AGR)
- Groundwater Recharge (GWR
- Water Contact Recreation (REC-1)
- Non-contact Water Recreation (REC-2)
- Commercial and Sport fishing (COMM)
- Cold Freshwater Habitat (COLD)
- Wildlife Habitat (WILD)
- Rare, Threatened, or Endangered Species (RARE)
- Spawning, Reproduction, and Development (SPWN)
Beneficial Use Impairment: Bodie Creek has been affected by Comstock-era mining and later livestock grazing. In 1992, the State Water Resources Control Board's Toxics Substance Monitoring Program (TSMP) data indicated silver concentrations in fish liver tissue were above the statewide 95th percentile "Elevated Data Level". The sampling location for the TSMP fish tissue data was approximately 2.5 miles downstream of the majority of mining occurrences, centered on BSHP. Mine tailings are present in the creek near BSHP. The creek supports threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout, which may be impacted by elevated metals concentrations or pH in the creek.]
