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Mining and Water Quality in the Western United States – A Collision of Resources

Mining and Water Quality in the Western United States – A Collision of Resources . Part II. Abandoned Mines and Acid Mine Drainage in Boulder County Joe Ryan Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering University of Colorado at Boulder. ca. 1874:

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Mining and Water Quality in the Western United States – A Collision of Resources

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  1. Mining and Water Quality in the Western United States –A Collision of Resources Part II. Abandoned Mines and Acid Mine Drainage in Boulder County Joe Ryan Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering University of Colorado at Boulder

  2. ca. 1874: “Those who did not have wells drank the creek water that was polluted with tailings from the mines above. The Boulder County Herald recommended that the water be taken out at a higher point in the canyon to avoid mining debris.” -- Phyllis Smith, 1981, A Look at Boulder From Settlement to City

  3. Boulder County • gold • Gold Hill, Jamestown • 660,000 troy ounces • $230 million • silver • Caribou • tungsten • Nederland • copper, fluorspar, uranium

  4. Captain Thomas Aikins’ party • 1858, headed for Cherry Creek – “Pikes Peak or bust” • detoured to Boulder because “the mountains look right for gold” Noel and Corson, Boulder County: An Illustrated History

  5. Prospecting in Boulder • 1958-59, searching for “float” in canyon creeks • following float to veins in the mountains Denver Public Library, X-60194

  6. Gold Hill • 1959, first discovery of gold in Colorado (Nebraska Territory) • Horsfal, Red Cloud, Slide, Prussian, Cash • 1898, population over 1,000 Denver Public Library, CHS-B217

  7. 1859, Gold Hill • first reported discovery of gold in Colorado (Nebraska Territory) • Horsfal, Red Cloud, Slide, Prussian, Cash • still thriving in 1898 James Creek Watershed Upper Lefthand Creek Watershed S. Pettem, 1980, Red Rocks to Riches

  8. Gold Hill • 1870s, Slide Mine • 1930s, tailings pond collapse Denver Public Library, X-14019

  9. Ward • 1860, Miser’s Dream, Utica, Succor, Big Five, Captain Jack • 1865, population about 600 • 1898, Colorado & Northwestern railroad • 1901, fire Denver Public Library, X-14019

  10. Jamestown • “Elysian Park,” “Jimtown” • 1860s, Golden Age, Bueno (Wano), Smuggler, John Jay • 1875, population about 500 Denver Public Library, X-9566

  11. Jamestown • 1940s, Burlington Mine • fluorspar Denver Public Library, X-61529

  12. Jamestown • 2002, Burlington Mine

  13. Walsh Environmental, 2002, Voluntary Cleanup Plan

  14. Burlington Mine • voluntary cleanup • subsidence pit pond

  15. Burlington Mine • Balarat Gulch • “blowout” • fish kill?

  16. Water Quality • public health • Left Hand Water District • 14,000 customers • sediment transport • aquatic health • fewer fish downstream • EPA investigation • Superfund? • Local reaction • Ward – “yes” • Jamestown – “no” • Boulder County Task Force

  17. Water Quality • Superfund approval • Ward area only • Community efforts • James Creek Watershed Initiative • community group • Section 319 • Lefthand Watershed Oversight Group • stakeholders and community group • Section 319

  18. Metal Loading Tracer Tests • USGS technique • “mapping” of metal inputs • mass per time • accounts for tributary flow • accounts for surface and groundwater inflows • funded by Outreach Committee, University of Colorado

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