1. Assessment of Risks to Public Health & Environment
August 8, 2018

2. Topics
Collaboration
Public health – assessment of sediment recreational screening levels
Environment – assessment of water quality standards
Current and future monitoring activities
Cement Creek

3. Gold King Mine Spill
Gold King Mine wastewater spill occurred August 5, 2015
CDPHE staff responded from Grand Junction and Denver offices
CDPHE collected 57 water, 38 sediment and 30 drinking water well samples between Aug 7-19, 2015
Cement Creek

4. Collaboration
Partnership between CDPHE, San Juan Basin Public Health and San Juan County Public Health began in early 2016
Co-reviewed & commented on EPA’s Conceptual Monitoring Plan
Address health and environmental contamination concerns
Funding from EPA ($460,000)
EPA 319 monies funded surface and drinking water, sediment, and verification sampling
EPA 106 monies funded sondes at 3 USGS gages
Formed basis for “Upper Animas Long-Term Monitoring Plan” or “LTMP” (April 4, 2016)

5. USGS Gages – Real-Time Data
YSI* multi-parameter sondes installed in early Apr 2016
Temperature
Specific conductance pH
Turbidity
Included O&M
Initial Locations
Cement Creek at Silverton (USGS )
Animas River below Silverton (USGS )
Animas River at Durango (USGS )
USGS @
Cement Creek
* YSI Incorporated / Xylem Inc.

6. Training Day
CDPHE staff visited Durango and Silverton on May 3, 2016 to train SJBPH and SJCPH staff
Sampling equipment, coolers, and supplies delivered
Training on sampling methods and multi-parameter sondes
Samples collected at:
CEM49 – Cement Creek at mouth
Site 82 – Animas River near Silverton
Site 81 – Animas River at Bakers Bridge
Site 9423A – Animas River at 9th St Bridge

7. Alert Notifications Communicate water quality risks to the public
Alert notification thresholds
1350 μs/cm spec. Cement Cr
5.5 Animas below Silverton
Subscribed to USGS WaterAlerts® to receive alerts
Verification sampling
Led by local health partners
Verify elevated measurement & collect a water/sediment sample

8. Adding Superfund
EPA officially added Bonita Peak Mining District to the Nat’l Priority List on Sep 9, 2016
EPA made $293,000 available for add’l water quality monitoring
Revised LTMP
Added “real-time” monitoring to 2 more UGSG gages plus more O&M
Animas River at Silverton (USGS )
Mineral Creek at Silverton (USGS )
Added 2 more sampling sites
Extended term of LTMP to Feb ‘18

9. By the Numbers…
Sampling covered 2 spring runoffs (2016, 2017) and 2 low-flow periods ( , )
Volume:
172 water samples
176 sediment samples
10 samples at public beaches
104 drinking water samples
0 verification samples
This data now resides here:
Bakers Bridge (Feb ‘17)

10. Data Usage…
Develop initial and amended alert notification thresholds at 2 gages
EPA technical reports
‘Analysis of Fate and Transport in the Animas and San Juan Rivers’ (EPA Webinar 2016)
CDPHE sediment and water quality assessments

11. Sediment Assessment
Assessments run by Environmental Epidemiology, Occupational Health, and Toxicology Section
Evaluated the health risks related to recreational exposure at 11 sites
Considerations:
Potentially sensitive people, such as young children
Assumed exposures could occur appx every weekend day from mid-April to mid-October
Evaluated risk from exposure to 8 contaminants of concern
Aluminum, Arsenic, Cobalt, Iron, Lead, Manganese, Uranium and Zinc

12. Sediment Assessment
Recreational screening values derived for 52-day per year exposure to sediment
Reasonable maximum exposure for users in Durango area
Conclusion: no apparent public health risk from recreational exposure to sediments
6 monitoring locations in LTMP
5 popular swim “beaches” or launches at:
Oxbow Park and Preserve
33rd St. boat launch
Paradise Beach
Santa Rita Park
Dallabetta Park

13. Water Quality Assessment
Water quality assessments conducted by segment
Segment COSJAF03a
Mainstem of the Animas River, including wetlands, from a point immediately below the confluence with Minnie Gulch to immediately above the confluence with Cement Creek
Designations: Agriculture, Aquatic Life (Cold 1), Recreation E
Data source(s)
CDPHE site 9488 – Animas River at Silverton
Finding: No exceedances of standards
Silverton

14. Water Quality Assessment
Segment COSJAF07
Mainstem of Cement Creek, including all tributaries, and wetlands, from the source to the confluence with the Animas River
Designations: Agriculture, Recreation E
Data Source(s)
CDPHE site CEM49, EPA site CC48, RiverWatch site 323
Finding: Acute exceedances of pH (min) of 3.7
Silverton

15. Water Quality Assessment
Segment COSJAF09
Mainstem of Mineral Creek, including wetlands, from immediately above the confluence with South Mineral Creek to the confluence with the Animas River
Designations: Agriculture, Aquatic Life (Cold 2), Recreation E, Water Supply
Data Source(s)
CDPHE site 9447 – Mineral Creek at Silverton
Finding: No exceedances of standards
Silverton

16. Water Quality Assessment
Segment COSJAF04a
Mainstem of the Animas River, including wetlands, from a point immediately above the confluence with Mineral Creek to a point immediately above the confluence with Deer Park Creek
Designations: Agriculture, Aquatic Life (Cold 2), Recreation E
Data Source(s)
CDPHE site 82, EPA site A72, RiverWatch site 3611
Finding: No exceedances of standards
Silverton

17. Water Quality Assessment
Segment COSJAF05a
Mainstem of the Animas River, including wetlands, from Bakers Bridge ( , ) to the Southern Ute Indian Reservation boundary
Designations: Agriculture, Aquatic Life (Cold 1), Recreation E, Water Supply
Data Source(s)
CDPHE sites 81 and 9423A, EPA sites “Bakers Bridge”, GKM05, and “Rotary Park”, and MSI site “ROTARY”
Finding: No exceedances of standards – there was a 1-in-3 year exception for Total Lead (acute)
Silverton

18. Current Monitoring Activities
EPA made $4,000,000 available to states and tribes from the Water Infrastructure for Improvement to the Nation (WIIN) Act (FFY17)
~$1,400,000 will be used for basin-wide monitoring (Sep 2018-Aug 2019) by EPA-contractor
CDPHE requested $227,800
Extend sonde O&M to August 2020 (at 5 gages)
Add’l well monitoring (contractual w/ SJBPH)
Communication liaison

19. Future Monitoring Activities
More WIIN Act monies (FFY18) available soon…
Continuation of basin-wide monitoring by EPA contractor
Extension of Communication Liaison position for 1-year
Pending projects
CDPHE presently active in both Monitoring and Communications workgroups
Mineral Creek

20. Communications - Web San Juan Watershed @ EPA
Highlights current activities
Fact sheet

21. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Animas River South of Durango
Animas River near Silverton
Chris Theel
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Water Quality Control Division - Environmental Data Unit