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EPA tests on Arkansas River sludge threat still under review
The Pueblo Chieftain
Tests by the Environmental Protection Agency to see whether a culvert dumping reddish-orange sludge into the Arkansas River is a health threat are complete, but results will not be released until the EPA reviews them.
Officials from the EPA and Colorado and Pueblo City-County health departments are especially interested in determining exactly what is in the sludge because the St. Charles Mesa Water District surface water intake is about 100 yards downstream.
The St. Charles Mesa Water District is authorized to take water from the river between Nov. 15 and March 15. Some years, the water district waits until about Dec. 15 to begin taking water from the river, but this year probably will begin on Nov. 15 because the reservoir on South Road is just refilling after a water leak was repaired.
The sludge, however, was tested in 1989 by the Pueblo Wastewater Treatment Plant. That test showed high concentrations of iron and elevated levels of zinc, which are not toxic to humans in small amounts. Zinc could affect fish in high enough concentrations.
The St. Charles Water District mixes water taken from the river with water stored in the reservoir, so river water is diluted. Water also is tested in the reservoir and at the Arkansas River intake.
The EPA testing has moved more slowly. The EPA came in to help state officials with testing in 1992. In June, EPA expected the results in "a couple of months."
Tuesday, Pat Smith who works with the Superfund Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Information System siteevent list, said test results have been on her desk about a week and it could be a month or more before she gets to analyze the data.
Based on the sampling results, the culvert, already on the SERCLIS list, could be placed on the national priorities list for Superfund cleanup. If the culvert doesn't make the list, the state could do cleanup under another authority, Ms. Smith added.
The sludge going into the river was discovered in 1989 by a pedestrian on the river trail. The pedestrian notified local and state health departments, and EPA came to assist the health departments.
A 30-foot-high slag embankment hovers above the culvert on the western side of Santa Fe Avenue. The pile is estimated to contain 1 million square feet of wastes from the Colorado Smelting Co., established in 1883 and dismantled in 1915.
The discharged water from the culvert is clear, but a reddish-orange sludge is built up in the bottom of the pipe and a reddish-orange plume on the river bottom can be seen for a few feet into the river.
"The prudent thing is to go test," said Ms. Smith. "If we err, we want to err on the side of protection."
The St. Charles Water District serves about 10,000 people.
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