By Ron Goodman   

If you read the daily newspapers, you may have feared for the quality of your water based on an article about potential pollution from mines in the Left Hand Valley watershed area.

“Officials fear that the 14,000 homes in the Left Hand Water District, may get contaminated drinking water, especially if the area (near the mines)  floods.”

But that was only part of the story.  Kathy Peterson, manager for the Left Hand Water District (LHWD) explained, “It hasn’t affected our water quality.  The pollution from the mines is gone before it reaches us.  The water at the Haldi Intake is great.”  

Hank Schmidt, engineer for the LHWD, corroborated Peterson’s statement. “Our water at Haldi exceeds the requirements of the USGS (United States Geological Survey).  This study (to obtain a Superfund listing) is more of a preventative move for the future,” Peterson explained,  “In case of an emergency, we can shut off the Haldi Intake.  We can supply raw water to our treatment plants from the Spurgeon and Joder Reservoirs.  That remote possibility (of contamination) was one of the reasons we recently built the new pumping station near Left Hand Valley Reservoir.” 

 “We have completed the initial site inspection of the watershed,” Dave Williams, an environmental engineer with the Environmental Protection Agency explained.  “We will have more money and additional expertise to complete the investigation and for the clean-up if the site is listed.”  There is a one-year time frame for the listing process and three to five years before the clean up. That is why local health agencies are anxious to get the sites listed on the National Priority list for Superfund money. About 35 Boulder County residents who were concerned about Left Hand Creek water quality attended an open house on Tuesday, May 8, at Centennial Middle School in Boulder.

Officials from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Water Quality Division of the Boulder County Health Department were on hand to answer questions and discuss the issue. Representatives from Left Hand Water District were also present.

There was a “Citizen Input Station” where those attending were able write down their responses to specific questions or topics from the open house. This public open house is part of an ongoing education effort sponsored by the Boulder County Health Department to let affected residents know about this issue and discuss possible courses of action for dealing with it

The mines, mills and surrounding areas in the Left Hand Creek watershed present potential water quality problems from uncontained mine tailings and draining mine tunnels. This runoff and leachate from the mines and surrounding tailings have impacted Little James Creek below the Burlington Mine and have significantly impacted Left Hand Creek below the Captain Jack Mill

Elevated levels of aluminum, beryllium, cadmium, copper, manganese, iron, lead, zinc and acidic water have been measured in the creeks near the mine sites

Contamination problems have been present and documented for more than 100 years, but recently concern has grown because of the increasing reliance on Left Hand Creek as a residential water supply.  Approximately 14,000 customers of the Left Hand Water District use water from the creek daily and that number is expected to double in coming years.

Many of the heavy metals present higher up in the watershed settle out before reaching the Left Hand Water District Haldi Intake, and regular testing by the district helps ensure the water used for drinking is free of harmful contaminates.

However, there remains a potential for health and environmental hazards posed by these contaminants should flooding occur. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that the two mining districts warrant a National Priorities Listing and would qualify for federal Superfund money to “clean up” the sites.

Before this issue gets to that point, the EPA has assured residents that the process of becoming listed will not move forward without community support. The Boulder County Health Department’s role is to ensure that citizens have ample information and opportunity to fully participate in that decision.

Photo by Ron Goodman