Event #3 3000 Discharge (cfs) Turbidity (FNU) ~4 days SSC (mg/L) - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Julie Korak JKorak@usbr.gov Jeb Brown JebBrown@usgs.gov

Discharge (cfs) Turbidity (FNU) SSC (mg/L)

Event #3 ~4 days

20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 1000 2000 3000 4000 9/27 9/28 9/29 9/30 10/1 10/2 Date

Sampling Location: Fruitland Bridge

A R S E N I C

• ALL Ag and canal sediment met Ag Guideline
• ALL River sediment met Aquatic and Residential Guidelines

L E A D

• ALL Ag soil met Residential Guideline
• Nearly ALL Ag soil met Ag Guideline
• ALL canal sediment met Ag and Residential Guidelines
• Nearly ALL River sediment met Aquatic Guideline

BEWARE NEED MORE INFO OK

SOIL & SEDIMENT RESULTS

By K. Chief, Assoc Prof & Ext Sp.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Human1Bacteria Quantification San Juan River at Hogback had significantly higher human bacteria than all other sites

Jaclynn Fallon, San Juan Watershed Group

Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project

Research Focus Area

• Reaches: 12.1, 12.2, & 22

Features

• 280 miles of pipeline
• 2 treatment plants
• Several pumping plants

2 Laterals

• San Juan (red line)
• Cutter (yellow & green)

Bernadette Fontenelle

The Holy Corn Pollen Path and the Gold King Mine Spill

“We as Navajo people view all things as having life and draw no distinction between the abiotic and

• biotic. In our holy songs we sing about being

children of the earth. We were made from ears of corn and the big wind gave us life. Water is revered and held sacred. The rivers carry our prayers and are integral part of ceremonial

• life. When the Gold King Mine Spill happened it

affected a holy part of our world, the San

• Juan. We watched our children, the corn and

plants die. We need the water and plants in our ceremonies to restore balance and harmony to our

• world. Without being sure of the sanctity of our

water and plants, our holy corn pollen path has been disrupted. That why I believe our work is vital to revitalizing our farming way of life and reconnecting to our Mother the Earth. Hózhó.” Brandon Francis NMSU Agricultural Science Center

Particle-bound Metals in San Juan Watershed

Time Magazine Steve Austin, NNEPA

Piedra River San Juan River Lake Powell UT AZ CO NM Animas River Los Piños River Chaco Creek La Plata River McElmo Creek Mancos River Chinle Creek

Steve Austin, NNEPA

San Juan River Delta Logan Frederick, University of Utah

"

"

! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! (

£ ¤

5 5

5727.34

Inca

5739.21 5728.46 5733.92 5725.31 5729.98 5739.59 5731.62 5723.55 5729.28 5736.54 5734.37 5740.39 5754.51 5732.03 5 7 3 5 5730 5 7 2 5 5760 5740 5780 5 7 2

107°55'W 107°56'W 107°57'W 237,000 238,000 239,000 240,000 4,086,000 4,087,000 4,088,000

/

B

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 mi

"

"

! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! ( ! (

! ! !

£ ¤

5 5

5727.34

Inca

5728.92 5732.84 5723.61 5724.86 5724.33 5721.88 5718.16 5720.67 5736.3 5722.55 5727.34 5735 5730 5725 5760 5 7 4 5780 5720 5700

107°55'W 107°56'W 107°57'W 237,000 238,000 239,000 240,000 4,086,000 4,087,000 4,088,000

/

B

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 mi

• Most of Animas River has gaining

conditions.

• Seasonal fluctuations in river stage

and water levels are enough to reverse groundwater/ surface water flow direction.

• Potential for future contamination from

lingering sediments, and reversals in groundwater flow

• The river and the groundwater in the

valley are hydrologically connected.

• The irrigation ditch water is feeding

the shallow water table, recharging groundwater during the irrigation season.

• Potential pathway for contamination to

enter aquifer

GROUNDWATER LEVEL MONITORING

along the Animas River, New Mexico, after the Gold King Mine 2015 mine-water release

Ethan Mamer, Talon Newton, Stacy Timmons

Fall water table Spring water table

Ethan Mamer

What happens to stream algae on the Animas during critical low flows?

Nitrogen & Phosphorus

+

Cultural Eutrophication

Nutrients “fertilize” the river Algal Blooms Die off & Decomposition Reduced Dissolved Oxygen Death of fish & aquatic species

Low flow = less water to dilute pollutants “Critical low flow” = 88.8cfs Annual Minimum flows on Animas @ Aztec 2008-2018 Range <10 to 150 cfs

7/1/12 190 cfs 6/13/18 320 cfs Melissa May

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000

NAGpH NPR

Combined ARD Classification Plot

Jeter Mine Rosedale District Jicarilla District Silverton, CO

• St. Anthony Mine

Little Davie, Lucky Don, Chupadera

UNCERTAI N NON- ACID FORMING POTENTIAL ACID FORMING UNCERTAIN

Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) plot of waste rock pile at mines examined during the NMBGMR AML project. NPR is a calculated ABA parameter

MINERALOGY AND CHEMISTRY OF MINE WASTE ROCK PILES IN MINING DISTRICTS IN SOUTHERN COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO

Perform a holistic assessment of contaminants and risks Challenging issues for communication: regulatory and technical nomenclature, measurement units, valence states, isotopes, numerous standards and guidelines, background contamination, language barriers GKM potential exposure pathways: drinking surface or groundwater, swimming/boating, sediment exposure, ingestion of crops, livestock, fish, wildlife, airborne dust Communicate using simple terms, without being condescending, that directly address public questions and concerns

Communicating Environmental Risks to the Public

Dennis McQuillan, New Mexico Environment Department

11

Geochemistry the of the Animas River after the Gold King Mine Spill, San Juan County, New Mexico

Talon Newton, Ethan Mamer, Stacy Timmons

• Groundwater recharge sources
• River water via irrigation
• Regional groundwater
• Iron and Manganese
• Exceeds U.S. EPA secondary

MCL in some wells

• Difficult to pinpoint the

source

• Gold King Mine spill
• No evidence of impact to

groundwater quality

• Favorable geochemical

conditions

• Potential for impact still exists
• Ongoing monitoring is

recommended

Water Quality in the Animas and San Juan Rivers Post Gold King Release--Updated with 2017 Water Sampling

Kate Sullivan, Mike Cyterski Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, GA

BACKGROUND

• The Gold King Mine release mainly affected water and sediment metals in the Animas during the first month

after the release (August 2015)

• The San Juan River did not receive much of the release at that time because most of it was deposited upstream
• f Durango
• EPA’s science team found that these deposits were washed out of the Animas and transported to Lake Powell

during the 2016 snowmelt period from March to June (see EPA report 2016 on the Gold King website)

• We sampled during snowmelt 2017 to confirm that everything had returned to background

RESULTS

• In 2017, many metals in the Animas were the lowest in years
• We don’t have as long a record of metals concentrations in the San Juan, but metals were also very low

throughout the river in 2017

• We developed sensitive indicators of when the GKM metals were carried in the rivers--none were found

in 2017

• Metals were within safe use levels

Scott Roberts, Mountain Studies Institute – scott@mountainstudies.org

Animas River – Aquatic Insects

Predator

soil

sediment

Bottom-feeder

M+ detritivores

scrapers Dissolved

• rganic C

M+ M+

predators

periphyton terrestrial vegetation

Heavy metal cycling through Animas River

• rganisms 2-years after the Gold King Mine spill

Daniel Cadol and Benjamin Duval, NMT

Leaves Corn

Metal concentrations in leaf tissue

Location-Navajo Nation

All leaf metal concentrations were below dietary guidelines; no metals detected in residues on leaf surfaces.