DURANGO, Colo., August 7 (Danielle Haynes – UPI, Jennifer Gardiner – Gephardt Daily)
An Environmental Protection Agency inspection unintentionally released one million gallons of waste water from an abandoned mine into southwest Colorado’s Animas River last week, prompting warnings for farmers and recreational users to steer clear of the waterway.
Walt Baker, Director of the Utah Division of Water Quality said that the water could reach Utah through the San Juan River as early as Sunday. “We thought at first it was going to hit sooner but we were later informed that the plume headed our way is so much more dense than the water that it is moving at a much slower rate than expected,” said Baker.
Baker issued a warning to others that the plume is a bright orange/yellow colored “water” but for others to use caution when they come across it. “We would not advise anyone to swim or play in the water, it is very acidic and could cause rashes and other irritations to the body. It has a significantly lower PH level and we really are uncertain what the long term effects are going to even be to the aquatic life that lives in these rivers and lakes.”
The plume would enter Utah first at the reservation and then into the city of Bluff. “It is expected to reach Lake Powell but we do not know at what concentration it will be by the time it gets there,” said Baker.
The breach happened Wednesday morning as the EPA the the State Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety team investigated potential contamination of the river at the Gold King Mine in San Juan County. The acidic water, contaminated with zinc, iron, copper and other heavy metals, broke free of a barrier of unconsolidated debris, the San Juan Basin Health Department said.
No members of the team were injured in the incident.
Mustard yellow water flowed down the Animas River, changing its color and leaving a thick sediment that stretched south to Durango, Colo. The EPA said it would be collecting samples of the river water and conducting visual observations to determine what, if any, affect the spill will have on the environment.
The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office closed the river from Durango south to the New Mexico state line to all watercraft and recreational users. Officials warned agricultural water users to shut off their water intakes.
“Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists are monitoring the impacts to the fish and other wildlife in the Animas River,” said Joe Lewendowski, public information officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in Durango.
