The New Mexico departments of Health and Environment in cooperation with their federal counterparts have lifted the restrictions on the use of well water in the Animas floodplain after the Environmental Protection Agency contaminated the Animas river by recklessly breaching a mine wall in the Gold King mine with a backhoe releasing 3 million gallons of water containing heavy metals that are dangerous to livestock and humans according to a press release by the State of New Mexico.
The press release states that ground water from the Animas river and it’s tributaries are still to be considered unsuitable for drinking. The advisory issued by the state also prohibits watering livestock with river water from the Animas and San Juan rivers and canals and advises that people refrain from catching and eating fish from these sources too.
The harmful pollutants will continue to make their way into the water supplies of the Navajo nation and possibly Las Vegas and Los Angles, cities already under water restrictions due to unprecedented drought conditions. The EPA is responsible for causing great contamination to the Western States water supply and should be held more accountable than they currently are.
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