Vigilance needed as pollution hits Utah

FARMINGTON, N. M. The plume of heavy metals released last week into the Animas River from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colo., reached Utah Monday.

Evan O’Keefe, supervisor with the San Juan County Geographical Information Systems department, estimated that the plume, which is now in the San Juan River, had traveled about three hours south of Aneth, Utah.

The Gold King Mine’s discharge raises a risk of longterm damage from the toxic metals falling out of suspension as the plume slowly moves along the river.

“Sediment does settle,” said Shaun McGrath, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8. “It settles down to the bottom of the river bed.”

One rural water user association in the county has spent thousands of dollars buying water from Farmington and Aztec because it had to shut down its wells after the toxic mine waste spilled into the Animas last week.

Mustard-colored water loaded with heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, copper, aluminum and cadmium, began rushing out of the Gold King Mine in southern Colorado on Wednesday after an EPA team disturbed a dam of loose rock lodged in the mine.

The deluge of polluted water poured into Cement Creek and continued into the Animas River. The pollution, clearly visible from the air and estimated to be more than 80 miles long at one point, reached Farmington, N.M., on Saturday morning.

McGrath said future runoff will kick that toxic sediment back into the water, which means there will need to be long-term monitoring.

The San Juan River travels west through the Navajo Nation, then converges with the Colorado River at Lake Powell in Utah. For the communities near the San Juan River, it is the main source of water for crops and livestock.