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Fact Sheet 2009–3007

Prepared in cooperation with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

Occurrence of Emerging Contaminants in Water and Bed Material in the Missouri River, North Dakota, 2007

By William C. Damschen and Robert F. Lundgren

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Summary

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, conducted a reconnaissance study to determine the occurrence of emerging contaminants in water and bed sediment within the Missouri River upstream and downstream from the cities of Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota, and upstream from the city of Fort Yates, North Dakota, during September–October 2007. At each site, water samples were collected twice and bed-sediment samples were collected once. Samples were analyzed for more than 200 emerging contaminants grouped into four compound classes—wastewater compounds, human-health pharmaceutical compounds, hormones, and antibiotics. Only sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic, was present at a concentration higher than minimum detection limits. It was detected in a water sample collected downstream from the cities of Bismarck and Mandan, and in bed-sediment samples collected at the two sites downstream from the cities of Bismarck and Mandan and upstream from Fort Yates. Sulfamethoxazole is an antibiotic commonly used for treating bacterial infections in humans and animals.

Posted March 18, 2009

For additional information contact:
Director, North Dakota Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
821 E. Interstate Ave.
Bismarck, ND 58503
http://nd.water.usgs.gov/

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Suggested citation:

Damschen, W.C., and Lundgren, R.F., 2009, Occurrence of emerging contaminants in water and bed material in the Missouri River, North Dakota, 2007: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2009–3007, 3 p.


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