Arkansas River Threatened by Contamination

Posted by Allison in February 17th, 2008

It is estimated that up to 1.5 billion gallons of water contaminated by heavy metals is trapped in the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel due to a collapse that occurred in the tunnel years ago. Because of the high snow pack this year, it is thought that the rising water table is building up pressure in the tunnel behind the collapse and may cause a blowout, dumping contaminated water directly into the Arkansas River. Lake County declared a disaster emergency on Wednesday due to the magnitude of this threat.

State and federal officials are working to create a plan on how to mitigate this direct threat to the residents of Lake County, the Arkansas River, and the communities down stream who depend on the river. If this blowout were to occur, the environmental impact could be devastating to our local ranching, fishing, and rafting industries.

This story has been gaining momentum in the national press. Here are some links to recent coverage:

Please feel free to jump in to the discussion about this topic on the BV Talks forum.