Event #3 ~4 days 120, ,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000. Turbidity (FNU) SSC (mg/l) Discharge (cfs) 9/27 9/28 9/29 9/30 10/1 10/2 Date

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2 Discharge (cfs) Turbidity (FNU) SSC (mg/l) Sampling Location: Fruitland Bridge Event #3 ~4 days Jeb Brown Julie Korak /27 9/28 9/29 9/30 10/1 10/2 Date 120, ,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000

3 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 SOIL & SEDIMENT RESULTS By K. Chief, Assoc Prof & Ext Sp. 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

4 Human1Bacteria Quantification Jaclynn Fallon, San Juan Watershed Group San Juan River at Hogback had significantly higher human bacteria than all other sites 5 6

5 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

6 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

7 Particle-bound Metals in San Juan Watershed McElmo Creek Animas River La Plata River Mancos River Los Piños River Piedra River Time Magazine UT AZ Lake Powell San Juan River Delta San Juan River CO NM Chaco Creek Chinle Creek Steve Austin, NNEPA Steve Austin, NNEPA Logan Frederick, University of Utah

8 54'N 36 56'N GROUNDWATER LEVEL MONITORING along the Animas River, New Mexico, after the Gold King Mine 2015 mine-water release Ethan Mamer, Talon Newton, Stacy Timmons 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 36 54'N 36 56'N 36 53'N 36 54'N 36 53'N Ethan Mamer A 241, , , , 'W 'W 'W mi BFall water table km / Cedar Hill " " Inca ! 'W mi A , , , , , , km240, ,000 / 'W 'W 'W 5810 March 2016 water level B October 2016 water level Spring water Cedar table Hill ") A ") /0 5 mi B Inca Well point 0 5 km Farmington " NM Animas River 'W Cedar Hill! Wells with negative gradient October 2016 water table B mi A , , , km 240, 'W 5825 " Inca ,090, 4,090,000 4,086,000 4,091,000 4,087,000 4,092,000 4,088,000 4,093, , , 'W 'W 'W 5880 " 4,086,000 4,087,000 4,088,

9 What happens to stream algae on the Animas during critical low flows? Low flow = less water to dilute pollutants Critical low flow = 88.8cfs Annual Minimum flows on Aztec Range <10 to 150 cfs Cultural Eutrophication Nutrients fertilize the river Algal Blooms Die off & Decomposition Reduced Dissolved Oxygen Death of fish & aquatic species 7/1/ cfs Melissa May 6/13/ cfs Nitrogen & + Phosphorus

10 NAGpH MINERALOGY AND CHEMISTRY OF MINE WASTE ROCK PILES IN MINING DISTRICTS IN SOUTHERN COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO 9 8 Combined ARD Classification Plot UNCERTAI N NON- ACID FORMING POTENTIAL ACID FORMING UNCERTAIN Jeter Mine Jicarilla District St. Anthony Mine NPR Rosedale District Silverton, CO Little Davie, Lucky Don, Chupadera Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) plot of waste rock pile at mines examined during the NMBGMR AML project. NPR is a calculated ABA parameter

11 Communicating Environmental Risks to the Public Dennis McQuillan, New Mexico Environment Department 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 11

12 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

13 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 of 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

14 Animas River Aquatic Insects Scott Roberts, Mountain Studies Institute

15 Heavy metal cycling through Animas River organisms 2-years after the Gold King Mine spill terrestrial vegetation soil scrapers M + detritivores Dissolved organic C M + Predator Bottom-feeder sediment predators M + periphyton Daniel Cadol and Benjamin Duval, NMT

16 Metal concentrations in leaf tissue Corn Location-Navajo Nation Leaves All leaf metal concentrations were below dietary guidelines; no metals detected in residues on leaf surfaces.