It's been a little more than a month since the Nevada Irrigation District began testing a new dredge and filter at Combie Reservoir.  District officials believe the filter will remove substantial amounts of mercury from silt and sediment deposited in the reservoir by the Bear River.  N-I-D Assistant General Manager, Tim Crough, says it appears the system is working extremely well.

“From what we saw it is very efficient. We just don’t know how mumch would have gotten by the equipment and returned back to the river sediment, so that was part of the experiment that we ran last month.”

Crough says there are some concerns that the small amount of mercury that makes it through the filter may pose some problems, however, it's believed the removal of more than 95 percent of the mercury from the water will improve water quality, not just locally, but for water users further downstream.

“That’s starting to capture a lot of attention in the dam water agencies that are concerned about the mercury in the bay delta. In essence, if we could treat the problem in the foothills at its source, it may make it easier to remove mercury in downstream waters.”

Crough says N-I-D officials are working on grant proposals to fund the experimental mercury removal process.  They're looking for federal stimulus funds to pay for the project.  Crough says there is no intention of passing the costs of the project on to N-I-D customers.