Posted on 08/09/2015 7:00:02 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Reuters) - Some 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater, triple previous estimates, have poured from a defunct Colorado gold mine into local streams since a team of Environmental Protection Agency workers accidentally triggered the spill last week, EPA officials said on Sunday.
The discharge, containing high concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead, was continuing to flow at the rate of 500 gallons per minute on Sunday, four days after the spill began at the Gold King Mine, the EPA said.
An unspecified number of residents living downstream of the spill who draw their drinking supplies from their private wells have reported water discoloration, but there has been no immediate evidence of harm to human health, livestock or wildlife, EPA officials told reporters in a telephone conference call.
Still, residents were advised to avoid drinking or bathing in water drawn from wells in the vicinity, and the government was arranging to supply water to homes and businesses in need.
The spill began on Wednesday after an EPA inspection team was called to the abandoned mine near the town of Silverton in southwestern Colorado to examine previously existing wastewater seepage.
As workers excavated loose debris at the site, they inadvertently breached the wall of a mine tunnel, unleashing a flow of the orange-tinged slurry that cascaded into Cement Creek and then into the Animas River downstream.
The town of Durango, Colorado, roughly 50 miles south of the spill site, shut off its intakes of river water as a precaution, according to the EPA.
By Friday, the main plume of the spill had traveled some 75 miles south to the New Mexico border, prompting utilities in the towns of Aztec and Farmington to shut off their intakes from the Animas as well, local authorities said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Living in SoCal, I am a bit worried about drinking this water, though it will be diluted considerably by the time it hits our faucets.
http://www.sltrib.com/home/2812762-155/blm-warns-utahns-to-avoid-san
Per this article written on Thursday , it will have reached Utah by friday.
Its now Sunday evening, and 0 has done nothing.
Where is the spill now?
Betcha its in lake Powell.
They at least should dam Cement Creek immediately.
This is a massive environmental disaster. The entire area relies on this river (and the San Juan that it feeds into) for their livelihood in some form or another.
Whenever government admits they did something wrong, you can be assured the truth is at least three times as bad, and probably ten times.
This is another thing Trump will need to look into during his first few days.
The EPA is polluting our waters.
There are "NO ACCIDENTS" (Kung fu panda)
.http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3322721/posts?page=62#62
See news article in post #62.
Was written Thursday; said spill would reach Utah by Friday.
Its now two days later.
Betcha its in lake Powell now.......
I wonder how many days before August 5 they had those signs printed ?
the govt does very few things well, and most things they mess up badly....
You mean like they told us about the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland catching on fire over and over and over adnauseum???
I think this GovernMental EnvironMental screw-up deserves the same identical endless news coverage that covered the National Park Services impounding and destruction of private property that was done to the whole Cuyahoga Valley!
See the video "For The Good Of All" in the PBS.org archives of Frontline documentaries.
And 2.88 million gallons* of crud is gonna get dumped into it pretty soon, if they don’t do something fast....
*more as time goes by without it being stopped....
The EPA created mess continues to discharge 500 gallons per minute ; 3 million gallons of contaminated water released so far.
And counting.
Even their own EPA warning sign avoids mentioning “who” spilled the water, doesn’t it?
Thanks for the info george76!
Laz, Kristinn, southack
Ping to the link posted by george76
Article says people are being warned not to swim in, or drink from, the San Juan arm of Lake Powell .
And the crud is still flowing.... they claim its backed up in holding pools.
(Yea, right.... )
My thoughts exactly when I read how the sign was worded.
Can you imagine what the EPA would do to any one of us if we accidentally did this?
Obviously I do t know exactly what happened but such breach would be extreme and beyond anything planned. Pretty stupid on their part.
The entire area relies on this river (and the San Juan that it feeds into) for their livelihood in some form or another.
Now they are saying a spill of approximately 3 million gallons. (Wikipedia)
What is the truth? EPA stated 1 million gallon, now it is up to 3 million
The Animas river is 126 miles long. There is only one major tributary of the Animas River it is the Florida River which confluences just north of the Colorado–New Mexico border. Not much chance the spill will be diluted until it reaches the border?
Numerous irrigation ditches serve the surrounding farmland along the river. Recently, the Durango Pumping Plant completed in 2011 as part of the Animas-La Plata Water Project draws a projected average annual intake of 57,100 acre-feet for storage in Lake Nighthors.
The Animas River is the largest tributary of the San Juan river
The San Juan drains an arid region of North America, and along its length (383 miles) it is very often the only significant source of fresh water.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.