Export of mercury downstream from reservoirs

Environmental effects monitoring at the La Grande hydroelectric complex (Québec, Canada) revealed important increases in mercury levels in fish caught downstream from reservoirs. A study was carried out in 1997 immediately below the Caniapiscau Reservoir to identify by which components mercury is transported downstream from reservoirs and to assess the amount of mercury being exported. Stomach contents of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) captured immediately below the Caniapiscau Reservoir were examined to determine which components transfer mercury from lower trophic levels to fish. The analyses of water samples and drifting organisms collected below the reservoir indicate that the dissolved fraction (< 0.45 microm) and the suspended particulate matter (0.45-50 microm) are the major components by which methylmercury is transferred downstream of reservoirs, accounting for 64 and 33%, respectively, of the total amounts exported. Drifting organisms such as plant debris, benthic invertebrates, fish, phytoplankton and zooplankton are much less important pathways for mercury export because of their very low biomass per water volume coming out of the generating station, as opposed to the high biomass of suspended particulate matter. However, zooplankton is the major component by which methylmercury is directly transferred to non-piscivorous fish downstream.