Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

Source of Gold King Mine water a mystery

La Plata County commissioners get tour of site
As of Friday, the Gold King Mine continued to spew about 600 gallons of wastewater per minute. The water is being treated before being released into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River. Mine workers are uncertain why so much water is spilling out of the exposed mine.

SILVERTON – More than three weeks after the Gold King Mine shaft was breached, on-site workers remain uncertain about where all the water is coming from.

On Friday, La Plata County commissioners Julie Westendorff and Brad Blake toured the mine site with on-scene coordinator Steve Wade of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Commissioners planned to tour the leaky site several months ago before contract workers accidentally discharged an estimated 3 million gallons of acidic wastewater Aug. 5, but that tour never took place.

The portal, Wade said Friday, is emitting about 600 gallons of water per minute – a development that followed the spill. The stagnant water near the mouth of the mine has an orange hue. Nearby rocks are stained from the blowout. The water turns clearer as it flows downhill into four treatment ponds.

The road leading to the mine was partially wiped out by the blowout, and some of the 30 workers on scene are trying to make it more accessible.

Animas River Stakeholders Group coordinators said in years past, the mine would, at most, emit 250 gallons per minute. Officials have not identified the specifics behind the heavier flow.

An EPA-contract team caused the spill by improperly estimating water pressure behind a dirt barrier above the mine portal holding back the orange sludge.

Now, contractors and officials are working on a tight deadline for remediation over the next six weeks as they explore long-term solution options for treating the wastewater.

A solution could involve bulkheads – or thick concrete barriers that hold back water – or a wastewater-treatment system, which could cost more than $1 million annually to operate.

“Treating water forever is an option out there, but it requires a whole lot of money and planning to get there,” Wade said.

ARSG members have withheld opinions on Superfund money for Silverton, though 25-year Durango area resident Clark Lagon said the town needs federal funding.

“They’re worried about their reputation if they get Superfund, but they’ve already lost it,” he said. “I hold both the EPA and Silverton responsible. They should have addressed this a long time ago.”

As officials work to upgrade the portal and surrounding area before the winter, they hope to uncover unknowns about the mine, including why it is discharging so much water.

“We’re producing more water now than we ever have out of this portal that we know of, maybe two or three times as much,” ARSG co-coordinator Steve Fearn said.

“What the hell is going on? That’s the question.”

On Friday, the EPA also released additional sampling data from the San Juan River in the Navajo Nation, reiterating that water conditions have trended to pre-spill status.

jpace@durangoherald.com

Jan 16, 2016
Cold has little impact on new water treatment plant north of Silverton
Aug 28, 2015
‘Stigma’ from Gold King Mine spill into the Animas River could linger


Reader Comments