From California Water News Daily – The miners of the 1800s California Gold Rush were determined to strike the Mother Lode for riches and fame, and are responsible for introducing mercury to the Sierra Nevada. Mercury was used to process mining ore for gold. That mercury has remained in the Sierra Nevada and led to the contamination of sediments throughout Sierra watersheds. Fast forward to 2018 when from Oct. 1 to Nov. 19 when some 40,000 cubic yards of sediment were removed from the dry Combie (in northwestern California’s Gold Country. The removal of sediment from Combie Reservoir while introducing an innovative mercury recovery process is a three-year pilot project. (more)