Bioaccumulation monitoring has been conducted in Poplar Creek by the BMAP since 1987 to address requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC, or its predecessors) for the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP, formally known as K-25) and the Y-12 Plant.

Poplar Creek is a relatively large stream (drainage area 352 km²) receiving adverse impacts from industrial, municipal, and agricultural sources. Lower Poplar Creek is part of the Watts Bar Reservoir flow regime, thus, when water is generated from Melton Hill Dam the water in Poplar Creek can actually flow upstream. Factors affecting accumulation of contaminants in fish from Poplar Creek include the inputs from East Fork Poplar Creek, Mitchell Branch, the ETTP ponds, and the Clinch River, but historical in-stream sediment contamination is also a factor, as is fish movement within the system coinciding with the changing flow patterns. 

Bioaccumulation data from Poplar Creek can be found in the BMAP databases (see Databases/GIS). Additional information on monitoring in Poplar Creek and Watts Bar Reservoir can be found at Mixed Contaminants in Large River Systems (Bioindicators), as well as at Clinch River Environmental Restoration Program.

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