I live around a large river. down one of its spans, recently, the bald cypress trees are dying at an alarming rate. a few friends and i think this is due to an extra contaminant in that stretch of the river. does anyone know how one could go about isolating this extra contaminant in hopes of clearing it out?

Fastest way? Take a sample , test it in a lab and hire a good lawyer. Otherwise you need filters of industry level or very large fields for fito depuration (not mentioning the removal of solid wastes and the change of the water course). It's not that simple

Hello, this is correct, you need to have your water analyzed. If you are near a mining operation, you could have chemicals from the mining operation contaminating your water. Hydro fracking near by, a different set of chemicals, but also toxic. Depending on where you live, the cost will probably be around $300. Best of luck, Envirodoc

To be more specific, $300 would be for the water analysis. Then you would need to identify the source of the contamination. If local, you might form a local grass roots organization to contact the media and provide information to generate interest in clean up efforts.

There are about 1001 things that could cause what you are describing. If it is just one species of plant that is affected, it is most likely something like a virus, fungus or insect that specifically attacks that species. If multiple species are affected, then I agree that chemical contamination is a good candidate.

Even if you narrow it down to a likely chemical contamination issue, you could spend a lot of money undertaking water quality testing trying to find the problem. Looking at the industries and activities upstream will help you narrow the likely suspects.

Do you have a EPA or water authority at your location? It sounds like something they should be looking at.