Shoshone River Water Quality at Kane, Wyoming

Overview

In the Shoshone River at Kane, Wyoming, dominant cations are calcium and sodium. Dominant anions are bicarbonate and sulfate. Relative to the Bighorn River near Fort Smith, Montana, there is a significant amount of variation in measured analytes, including total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (P), and nitrate + nitrite as nitrogen (NO3 + NO2 as N). In unregulated rivers, suspended solids and total phosphorus are typically at their annual maxima during high flows. Despite its regulated status, this was also the case for this sampling location on the Shoshone River.

Background levels of nitrate + nitrite as nitrogen and total phosphorus in the Shoshone River at Kane, Wyoming, were 0.19 mg/L and 0.25 mg/L, respectively, in April. Levels increased to 0.49 mg/L and 0.39 mg/L, respectively, when we sampled during high flows in late May. In 2019, ammonia as nitrogen (NH3 as N) levels were below detection levels (i.e., < 0.05 mg/L) on all sampling occasions. Wyoming's surface water quality standards currently include only narrative criteria to protect designated uses from nutrient pollution.

2019 Water Quality Lab Results

The following table contains quarterly water quality lab results for the Shoshone River at Kane, Wyoming. Download tabular data here for this table.

Table 1. Quarterly water quality lab results for Shoshone River at Kane, Wyoming. All values presented are in mg/L. RL = Report limit; ND = non-detectable result; “–” = missing value. 

Water quality lab results for Shoshone River at Kane, Wyoming.

Water Chemistry Lab Parameters (Shoshone River at Kane, WY)	Reporting Limit	4-Apr	4-Apr Replicate	31-May	28-Aug	28-Aug Replicate

2019 Water Quality Field Results

The following table contains quarterly water quality field parameter results for the Shoshone River at Kane, Wyoming. Download tabular data here for this table.

Table 2. Summary of quarterly field parameter results for Shoshone River at Kane, Wyoming. 

Water quality field results for Shoshone River at Kane, Wyoming.

Water Quality Field Parameters (Shoshone River, Kane, WY)	4-Apr	31-May	28-Aug

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More Data

Data prior to 2016 are available at the Water Quality Portal using BICAWQ01 for the project and 11NPSWRD_WQX-BICA_SHR1 as the site identifier for the Shoshone River at Kane, Wyoming.