With the recent actions by the State regarding water pollution in Coon Track Creek due to the Cross and Caribou Mines, I wanted to take a moment to reassure everyone in Nederland about the safety of our drinking water.
First, the pollution that caused the state to issue a Notice of Violation/Cease and Desist order is occurring in a different watershed than where Nederland gets its water supply. The town water treatment plant is located by the High School in the Eldora Valley, while the recent concerns are one valley to the North. Thus, the pollution released by the mines has no way of entering into our water supply.
However, we all know that the hills around us are peppered by old mines so I want to share the most recent water testing results for Nederland’s drinking water. We routinely take samples and have them tested by a third party to check for both organic and inorganic pollutants. Results from the test on October 19th showed no detectable amounts (meaning less than 1 part per billion, or in one case trillion) of Antimony, Arsenic, Beryllium, Cadmium, Chromium, Mercury, Nickel, Selenium, Thallium, Uranium, Nitrate Nitrogen, Floride, and a long list of PFAs.
We did detect the following in our water:
- Barium (15 parts per billion, where the EPA limit is 2000)
- Sodium (3800 parts per billion, where there is no EPA limit)
- Lead (1 part per billion, where the EPA limit is 15)
- Copper (195 parts per billion where the EPA limit is 1300)
The long and short of this is that Nederland’s drinking water is incredibly safe, far more so than just about anywhere else in the country. This is not to say that what is happening at Caribou is not of concern. The polluted water flows through Nederland into Barker, and we are concerned on behalf of our neighbors who rely on well water in the valley below the mines. As a Town, we are working with representatives of the County, the City of Boulder, the State, as well as from Grand Island Resources to ensure that this situation is addressed rapidly and fully for the sake of everyone in western Boulder County.
