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Characteristics of Metals Concentrations in in the Animas and San Juan Rivers during Passage of the Gold King Mine Release Plume
Citation:
Sullivan, Kate, Mike Cyterski, Chris Knightes, J. Washington, S. Kraemer, L. Prieto, AND B. Avant. Characteristics of Metals Concentrations in in the Animas and San Juan Rivers during Passage of the Gold King Mine Release Plume. 2017 Conference on the Environmental Conditions of the Animas and San Juan Watersheds, Farmington, NM, June 20 - 22, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Presented at the New Mexico Water Institute Symposium, 2nd Annual Conference on Environmental Conditions of the Animas and San Juan Watersheds with Emphasis on Gold King Mine and Other Mine Waste Issues.
Description:
The accidental release of 11.3 million liters (~ 3,000,000 gallons) of acidic mine water from the Gold King Mine (GKM) in southwestern Colorado on August 5, 2015, created high concentrations of dissolved and particulate metals into the Animas River over about a 12-hour period. The release traveled as a coherent plume through 550 km (342 miles) of the Animas and San Juan Rivers over an 8-day period before ultimately reaching Lake Powell, Utah. Extensive monitoring of water and sediments by EPA, States, Tribes and others was augmented by water quality modeling to characterize the release.
