Barbara Lawlor, Eldora.  On Monday afternoon, around 2 p.m. a hiker in the Eldora townsite noticed that Middle Boulder Creek had an orange, brown murky look to it and caused look to it and called the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office to report the discoloration.

Members of the Nederland Fire Protection District responded along with sheriff's deputies to the townsite and when they saw obviously unnatural color of the creek, they notified the Boulder County Hazardous Materials Team and the Boulder Emergency Services Unit to investigate the cause and source of the discoloration.

The Town of Nederland Public Works Department and the Nederland Police Department were also notified and employees took immediate steps to shut off the water intake to the Nederland Water Treatment facility.     At the time, Nederland Town Administrator Alisha Reis said there was enough stored water for three days if the creek water proved unsafe to drink.

The emergency hazmat workers met at the NFPD Station 3 on Eldorado Avenue close to the Bryan Street intersection. Ned firefighters and Eldora residents traced the source of the discolored water to the 700 block of Bryan Avenue. Orange mud was seeping from the entrance to an old mine shaft and sluicing into the creek. Nederland Fire Protection District firefighters blocked the culvert that was leaking the rust colored water into Middle Boulder Creek and discoloration began dissipate below the dammed area.

A Boulder County Sheriff’s deputy said the BC Public Health Department had been previously aware of the situation. The seepage has been contained in a retention pond and was not believed to be a public health threat.

The orange-tinged water was found to be non-toxic mine seepage from the historic Swathmore Mine.       Investigators were able to confirm that the orange-tinged water was the result of mine seepage near the 900 block of Bryan Avenue.  According to Mike Wagner of the BCSO, the mine seepage flowed into the creek when a plug from the mine came loose, allowing orange-colored minerals and metals to enter the nearby creek water.

The NFPD managed the containment of the mine seepage while other agencies underwent testing and evaluation.  As a precaution, all water intake systems downstream, including those for the City of Boulder and the Town of Nederland, were shut down during the course of the investigation.

The sheriff’s Emergency Services Unit worked with members of the Boulder County Public Health Department and the Environmental Protection Agency  to identify the metals and minerals that had seeped into the creek water.  Ultimately the mine seepage was found to be non-toxic, and dissipated rapidly once the water flows were restored.  The EPA has completed their investigation, finding that the impacted creek water was safe.

The EPA coordinator has reported that 4,500 gallons of orange colored water had seeped from the mine location. By 6 pm, on Monday, the discharged water was running clear from the portal to the creek.  Because tests indicated close to neutral pH levels, there was no immediate concern for dissolved metals. Samples for total metals were taken and preliminary analytical results from the laboratory will be available by Friday.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Division of

Reclamation Mining and Safety also visited the site with EPA. EPA continues to support state and local responders in the assessment of the mine site.