BOULDER – Colorado and federal officials say contaminated water released from a federal Superfund cleanup site in Boulder County is likely to blame for a fish kill that occurred earlier this week.
Officials with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency say the contaminated water came from a mine tunnel at the Captain Jack Mill Superfund site.
KMGH-TV in Denver reports that high acidity and heavy metals in water from the site, coupled with the seasonal low flows in Left Hand Creek, resulted in a fish kill below the superfund site on Monday.
Public Health and Environment spokesperson Meghan Hughes said the number of fish killed was in the “low hundreds.”
Hughes said there is no long-term impact expected to the reservoir below the creek.
