How polluted is the Colorado River?
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it now estimates that a leak that turned a Colorado river yellow has caused three times as much pollution as initially thought. The Animas River has been closed since five EPA workers accidentally sent contaminated water pouring downstream.
How did the Gold King Mine spill affect humans?
In towns such as Durango, officials closed the river to human access for more than a week. Rafting companies were forced to close, putting a dent in tourism revenue at the peak of summer. The discharge also contaminated water for Navajo communities in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.
What caused the Gold King Mine spill?
The Gold King Mine spill occurred at the Gold King Mine—an abandoned mine near Silverton, Colorado—in August 2015. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel and a company under EPA contract triggered the release of toxic wastewater in an attempt to remove such wastewater from the mine.
Who polluted the Colorado River?
An EPA-led contractor crew triggered the spill while doing exploratory excavation work at the mine entrance in advance of a possible cleanup. The Gold King is one of hundreds of inactive mines in the Colorado mountains that continuously spew polluted water into rivers or have the potential to do so.
Who is responsible for cleaning the Gold King Mine spill?
Meanwhile, the EPA took full responsibility for the disaster and worked quickly to build a $1.5 million dollar water treatment plant at the mine.
What is the condition of the Colorado River?
The flow of the Colorado River has dropped 20 percent since the 1900s. Roughly half of that decline is due to climate change, which has fueled a 20-year megadrought across Colorado and the West. That rapid decline could soon cause problems between the states that share this water, Udall said.
How do the Navajo people get contaminated with uranium in the Grand Canyon region?
Many Navajo people worked the mines, often living and raising families in close proximity to the mines and mills. Today the mines are closed, but a legacy of uranium contamination remains, including over 500 abandoned uranium mines (AUMs) as well as homes and water sources with elevated levels of radiation.
Do alligators live in Lake Powell?
Since I began writing my column on Lake Powell several years ago, I’ve kept a pretty close eye on the National Park Service’s news releases regarding Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Most of the time, they’re pretty much run of the mill.