The Gold King Mine was originally discovered in 1887 and has been running on and off up until 1922. The mine was a huge economic resource for the state of Colorado for it shipped 711,1144 tons of gold and silver. Also it provided many jobs for the residents in the area. In 1991 the Sunnyside corporation took over The Gold King Mine and promised to plug the mines and to treat the abandoned mines and creeks. Sunnyside kept to their word but later on the responsibility was transferred to Gold King. Gold King later ran into financial, technical, and legal issues which lead to the plant eventually shutting down. Since the shutdown little to no care has gone to the mines and surrounding creeks. In essences it was a ticking time bomb that would eventually
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In a state of emergency valves were closed off to the Animas river so to not contaminate the drinking water. But because the residents are relying on the Florida River they were told to conserve their water usage (Schuppe, 2015). The EPA was fearful of the effects on the wildlife. They collect 116 fingerlings from the creeks to watch their survival. Only one of the fish did not make it to the end of the study. No more fish than normal have been spotted floating dead within the creek. There have been past incidences to the creeks that allowed the fish to adapt to the water conditions over the years. The wastewater moved so fast through the river that the didn’t affect the fish and will eventually get diluted. Test are still being done on the effects on the wildlife but as far as they know the fish and insects are fine. A month after the incident the fish have been declared safe to eat, for their toxicity levels were below detectability. Many Indian tribes settle around the San Juan River. The are enraged because this was one of their sacred rivers and they are already suffering economic depression, so they can not afford to treat the water. Not only can they not drink the water but the water can not be used for farming and livestock (Paul, Animas River Spill: Navajo Nation Angry at EPA, 2015). Local small businesses such as rafting companies have suffered economically. Once the river …show more content…
In order to reduce acidity of the water caustic soda and lime was added. This will cause the metals and sludge to separate from the water and make it easier to clean the water when the metal is in it’s solid form. A wastewater system was installed to be able to run 24/7 and be able to withstand 20 degree temperatures. The EPA has predicted that nearly 85% of the metals will be filtered out of the water. The system will not only cover the contaminants in the creeks but it will also cover what is still continuously flowing out of the Gold King mine. This water treatment will cost an estimated three million dollars. (Paul, 2015) Residents of the Colorado area are now fearful of future abandon mine spills and would like to know what the Epa is doing to help prevent. Epa has came up with the idea to put a treatment plant by the Gold King Mines so that the water can constantly be monitored. But that would take an estimated 5 million dollars and Colorado is already suffering economically because of recent events, so no decisions have been made regarding the treatment plant. (Turkwitz,
In a state of emergency valves were closed off to the Animas river so to not contaminate the drinking water. But because the residents are relying on the Florida River they were told to conserve their water usage (Schuppe, 2015). The EPA was fearful of the effects on the wildlife. They collect 116 fingerlings from the creeks to watch their survival. Only one of the fish did not make it to the end of the study. No more fish than normal have been spotted floating dead within the creek. There have been past incidences to the creeks that allowed the fish to adapt to the water conditions over the years. The wastewater moved so fast through the river that the didn’t affect the fish and will eventually get diluted. Test are still being done on the effects on the wildlife but as far as they know the fish and insects are fine. A month after the incident the fish have been declared safe to eat, for their toxicity levels were below detectability. Many Indian tribes settle around the San Juan River. The are enraged because this was one of their sacred rivers and they are already suffering economic depression, so they can not afford to treat the water. Not only can they not drink the water but the water can not be used for farming and livestock (Paul, Animas River Spill: Navajo Nation Angry at EPA, 2015). Local small businesses such as rafting companies have suffered economically. Once the river …show more content…
In order to reduce acidity of the water caustic soda and lime was added. This will cause the metals and sludge to separate from the water and make it easier to clean the water when the metal is in it’s solid form. A wastewater system was installed to be able to run 24/7 and be able to withstand 20 degree temperatures. The EPA has predicted that nearly 85% of the metals will be filtered out of the water. The system will not only cover the contaminants in the creeks but it will also cover what is still continuously flowing out of the Gold King mine. This water treatment will cost an estimated three million dollars. (Paul, 2015) Residents of the Colorado area are now fearful of future abandon mine spills and would like to know what the Epa is doing to help prevent. Epa has came up with the idea to put a treatment plant by the Gold King Mines so that the water can constantly be monitored. But that would take an estimated 5 million dollars and Colorado is already suffering economically because of recent events, so no decisions have been made regarding the treatment plant. (Turkwitz,