From The Denver Post (Bruce Finley):
The latest water-quality tests showed that Ralston Creek below Schwartzwalder mine carried as much as 390 parts per billion of uranium, which is 13 times higher than the 30 ppb health standard. Contamination of groundwater at the source — inside the mine — exceeded the standard by 1,000 times. Drinking water remains safe, Denver Water and Arvada authorities said, because uranium is removed from Ralston Reservoir water by municipal water treatment plants. Still, even after treatment, uranium levels appear to be rising in some systems. In Arvada, reservoir water tested at 7.2 ppb before treatment. Uranium in drinking water sent to the city’s household customers increased to 1.2 ppb in April from 0.9 ppb in January.
“We’re urging the state to take immediate action,” said James McCarthy, Arvada’s chief of regulatory and environmental compliance. “We’re not retooling for uranium removal. That’s not just something you can turn a switch and do. That’s why Cotter has to do something about this. Why didn’t they make it known sooner?”
Jefferson County officials said they’ve been in regular contact with state regulators. The reservoir’s owner, Denver Water, “would like to see immediate and aggressive steps to ensure that reclamation of the mine is completed in a timely manner,” spokeswoman Stacy Chesney said.
Colorado’s top water-quality overseer sent a memo May 10 to the mining regulators recommending swift action. “If a permanent solution cannot be implemented in a very short time frame, then an interim solution, such as pumping and treating as much contaminated water as possible, should be launched immediately,” wrote Steve Gunderson, director of water quality control for the state health department. Cotter’s mine “is causing a violation of stream standards. That’s the thing we’re waiting to get addressed. They cannot have a discharge that is violating stream standards,” Gunderson said Wednesday.
More Schwartzwalder coverage here. More nuclear coverage here and here.