KSUT talks to La Plata County’s Butch Knowlton about contaminated water spill

Jerry McBride-Durango Herald Mine waste from the Gold King Mine north of Silverton fills the Animas River at Bakers Bridge on August 6, 2015 in Durango, Colo.

A mine waste spill has spewed about a million gallons of orange-colored discharge into a tributary of the Animas River. Workers instead released an estimated 1 million gallons of mine waste into Cement Creek.

County officials said the acidic mine water contains high levels of sediment and metals.

It happened while U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials were doing work on the mine.

La Plata County closed off the river to the public for more than 70 miles, from San Juan County to New Mexico.

Durango has shut down water intakes from the river until the contaminated water has passed, but the spill is not affecting drinking water.

The EPA said in an earlier statement that that the polluted water “was held behind unconsolidated debris near an abandoned mine portal”. “The water associated with the release is obvious and highly discolored”.

Owners are being advised to keep pets and livestock out of the river until testing can be done to determine the wastewater’s content. It also suspended the transfers of raw water to a local golf course and Fort Lewis College.

“The undertaking was expected to pump and treat the water and decrease metals contamination streaming out of the mine”, organization representative Rich Mylott said in an announcement.

EPA teams are monitoring river conditions over the next several days.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says it’s watching the affects the spill could have on fish and other animals.