Animas River Fouled by 1 Million Gallons of Contaminated Mine Water
By Jesse Paul and Bruce Finley
The Denver Post
8/06/2015 11:27:26 AM
A spill that sent 1 million gallons of wastewater from an abandoned mine into the Animas River, turning the river orange, set off warnings Thursday that contaminants threaten water quality for those downstream.
The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed it triggered the release while using heavy machinery to investigate pollutants at the Gold King Mine north of Silverton.
Health and environmental officials are evaluating the river in San Juan County. They said the spill contained zinc, iron, copper and other heavy metals, prompting the EPA to warn agricultural users to shut off water intakes along the river and tell recreational users to avoid the river.
“There’s nothing that can be done to stop the flow of the river,” said Joe Lewandowski, a spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “We can only wait until the flows slow down. We had a big heavy spring (of rain) here.”
Lewandowski said the EPA is testing to determine the river’s metal levels and that results should be returned by mid-Friday.
Downstream in Durango, where the wastewater is expected to reach by late afternoon, city officials are asking residents to cut back on their water use and irrigation of city land at Fort Lewis College has been stopped.
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The anti EPA advocates are going to love this!
