There’s not much I can say other than “..at least mine’s natural.”

I’ve been researching maps on creeks and impoundments in my area, looking for those less traveled places that may hold something special. I’ve found a brown trout stream and a couple small lakes off the beaten path – but the most persistent thread through all of this landscape is Mercury.

Lots and lots of it – and I’m sitting on the motherlode.

The Clear Lake / Cache Creek drainage has been mined for Mercury for more than a century, in fact, during the California Gold Rush – much of the Mercury used to extract the gold ore was garnered from my little crick and it’s surrounding watershed.

A toxic Superfund site still exists in the Oak Creek arm of Clear Lake, the source of the heavy water I’ve mentioned in the last couple of months, it was responsible for 150 tons of Mercury leaching into that impoundment – and each winter is released into the Little Stinking, stirring up the streambed in the process.

The mine was closed in 1957, leaving a hole
that began filling with water from creeks and
geothermal springs. Dubbed the Herman
Impoundment, the “lake” covers 23 acres
amid 120 acres of mine tailings and waste
rock. Because it sits higher than the level of
Clear Lake, contaminated waters from the
impoundment leach into the Lake.

During the 1970s and 1980s, it was discovered
that catfish and bass in Clear Lake had
elevated levels of mercury, and fish advisories
were put into effect. In 1990 the property
was designated an EPA Superfund Site, and
it is currently the largest mercury Superfund
site in the nation.

Abandoned Mercury mines dot each of the local tributaries adding to the ecological burden, as runoff sluices multiple sources into one large slug of “yummy” that ends up in San Francisco Bay.

“Brownlining” may not appropriate any longer, now that I discovered the silver lining of my creek.

I may take a look at Herman Impoundment as it’s likely to host great dry fly fishing, 30 turns of 2-Amp lead wire would skitter across the surface without even getting damp.

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