SILVERTON, Colo. | A mine waste spill inadvertently caused by environmental cleanup work spewed about a million gallons of orange-colored discharge into a tributary of the Animas River on Wednesday.
Environmental authorities were scrambling Thursday to assess damage from the leak, caused when a plug blew at the Gold King Mine near Silverton. Drinking water is not affected, officials said.
The Environmental Protection Agency says that about 1 million gallons of mine waste spewed into Cement Creek, which feeds the Animas.
Durango officials shut down water intakes from the river until the contaminated water has passed, Radio Durango reported. Water service wasn’t interrupted.
The mine spill flooded several parts of San Juan County. EPA workers were on site at the time of the spill, but no injuries were reported.
The spill happened when EPA officials were doing remediation work on the mine.
“The mine pool released when they were starting to do some work up there. That was not anticipated,” said Peter Butler, co-coordinator of the Animas River Stakeholder Group, a volunteer coalition.
There are no fish populations in the Cement Creek watershed because of longstanding problems with water quality, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment said.
Residents near the Animas River were advised to avoid the river until the plume of orange water passed. Residents were also advised to keep dogs and livestock out of the river until further notice.
Information from: KIQX-FM, https://www.radiodurango.com