Risk Posed By Rising Water Levels At Arizona Uranium Mine
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
Rainfall is normally welcomed in arid Arizona, but in at least in one instance, wet weather may pose a contamination threat to drinking water.
A wet winter and a rise in groundwater flow could create problems at a uranium mine near the Grand Canyon National Park, according to The Arizona Republic.
“The water levels at the Canyon mine were so high at one point last month that the mine's operator had to spray water into the air to enhance evaporation and increase the amount of water it was hauling to its White Mesa Mill in Utah,” the report said.
The rising water levels are “sparking concerns about water contamination,” the Associated Press reported.
“Officials downplay concern about polluted water escaping the site, where samples taken at the mine's holding pond recently tested at 130 parts of dissolved uranium per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency considers anything above 30 parts per billion to be unsafe to drink,” The Arizona Republic reported.
In addition, environmentalists say mine oversight in Arizona is lacking. State regulators require mines to "control storm runoff and keep contaminated water in evaporation ponds," the report said.
State officials say the mine has so far complied with regulatory standards, the newspaper reported.
“Curtis Moore, a spokesman for Energy Fuels Resources Inc., the mine operator, said in an email that the groundwater flows in the shaft have slowed recently, and evaporation pond levels have dropped,” The Arizona Republic reported.
“Mining industry advocates say that uranium mines are small, ‘dry’ and pose no threat to drinking water,” the report continued.
In previous years, environmentalists and the Havasupai Tribe have gone to court to prevent mining at the site, Grand Canyon News reported.
Arizonans celebrated an unusually wet winter for their arid state.
“For the first time in six years, Arizona had an above average winter — in fact, it was about 150 percent of normal precipitation. That’s welcome news for reservoirs on the Salt and Verde rivers,” KJZZ reported.
Charlie Ester of the Salt River Project cautioned, however, that the drought is not over, according to the report.
For similar stories visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.