Waste water from a mine spill into Cement Creek and the Animas River is highly discolored. La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith ordered the river closed to boating and recreation on Thursday.
On Aug. 7, the EPA had a press conference in Durango, identifying lead, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum, copper and calcium, at varied levels in the Animas River.
Approximately 1 million gallons of waste from the Gold King Mine near Silverton spilled into Cement Creek on Wednesday. On Thursday, the waste water was north of Durango, and it was flowing through town in Durango on Friday and into New Mexico. State officials there are advising residents not to drink water from wells along the Animas or San Juan rivers.
More information is at www.durangoherald.com.
