Fox River Valley

USA Wisconsin Fox River Valley 5 wells Sulfide oxidation 3.8-7.2 0.3-166 (0.2 pm filtered) Schreiber, Simo and Freiberg (2000)... 

Thornburg, K. and Sahai, N. (2004) Arsenic occurrence, mobility, and retardation in sandstone and dolomite formations of the Fox River valley, eastern Wisconsin. Environmental Science and Technology, 38(19), 5087-94. 

Subsequent detailed studies in the Fox River Valley towns of Algoma and Hobart confirmed the importance of the sulfide-rich cement horizon as a probable source of the arsenic (Schreiber et al., 2000) (Figure 8). In the town of Algoma, one well contained 1.2 X 10" p.g arsenic. There was, however, much apparently random spatial... 

The arsenian pyrite underlying the Fox River Valley (Schreiber et al., this volume) most likely represents another MVT type of deposit that is the source of arsenic-rich ground water. 

CASE STUDY FOX RIVER VALLEY, NORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN... 

Figure I. a) Location and bedrock geology of the Fox River valley, WI. b) Geologic section showing major units and the sulfide cement horizon (SCH). Modified from Batten and Bradbury (1996).

Figure 2. Distribution of arsenic concentrations in wells in the Fox River valley and the location of the erosional edge of the Sinnipee Group. Data from WDNR (1995, unpublished).

In addition to recognizing sulfide oxidation as the process by which arsenic is released to ground water, identification of the mechanism that causes sulfide oxidation is necessary to understand the controls on arsenic in well water. Two issues of concern in the Fox River valley case are the nature of the oxidant and its source. 

With the development of electric power in the late 1800s, waterpower underwent a spectacular renaissance to drive electrical generators. The first practical hydroelectric plant went into operation on the Fox River near Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1882. Hydroelectric power grew rapidly as an energy source from that time and by 1980 accounted for about 25% of world electrical production and 5% of total world energy use. The potential to construct hydroelectric plants is favored by mountainous terrain with large river valleys and is distributed relatively evenly around the world. China has about... 

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