Suspended sediment yield and metal contamination in a river catchment affected by El Niño events and gold mining activities: the Puyango river basin, southern Ecuador

Abstract

AbstractThe suspended sediment yield and the transfer of polluted sediment are investigated for the Puyango river basin in southern Ecuador. This river system receives metal (Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn) and cyanide pollution generated by mining, and is associated with large‐scale hydrological variability, which is partly governed by El Niño events. Field sampling and statistical modelling methods are used to quantify the amount of mine tailings that is discharged into the basin. Annual suspended sediment yields are estimated using a novel combination of the suspended sediment rating method and Monte Carlo simulations, which allow for propagation of the uncertainties of the calculations that lead to final load estimates. Geochemical analysis of suspended and river bed sediment is used to assess the dispersion and long‐term fate of contaminated sediment within the river catchment. Knowledge of the inter‐ and intra‐annual variation in suspended sediment yield is shown to be crucial for judging the importance of mining discharges, and the extent to which the resultant pollution is diluted by river flows. In wet years, polluted sediments represent only a very small proportion of the yield estimates, but in dry years the proportion can be significant. Evidence shows that metal contaminated sediments are stored in the Puyango river bed during low flows. Large flood events flush this sediment periodically, both on an annual cycle associated with the rainy season, and also related to El Niño events. Therefore, environmental impacts of mining‐related discharges are more likely to be severe during dry years compared with wet years, and in the dry season rather than the wet season. The hydrological consequences of El Niño events are shown to depend upon the extent to which these events penetrate inland. It is, thus, shown that the general conclusion that El Niño events can significantly affect suspended sediment yields needs evaluation with respect to the particular way in which those events affect a given catchment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.