A massive spill of raw sewage and untreated wastewater into the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado continues to wreak havoc on the region.
Water in the river downstream of the spill, east of Pueblo, is still testing high for dangerous nasties like the bacteria E. coli. Colorado Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday issued advisories for people to stay away from the water in 10 state wildlife areas along the river, as well as the Las Animas State Fish Hatchery.
And all of this is happening during one of the most agriculturally important times for the Lower Arkansas Valley, as watermelon, cantaloupe, chile peppers and other crops are harvested.
What do you need to know as the crisis nears its second week? Here are some answers to common questions.
What’s the latest on the spill?
After a failed pipe spewed 4.25 million gallons of sewage into the river last week from the City of Pueblo’s wastewater treatment facility, the spill’s plume flowed downriver and reached the John Martin Reservoir, east of Las Animas.
Water samples taken through Monday continued to show unsafe levels of E. coli in the river from the spill site to the reservoir. As a result, Colorado Parks and Wildlife warned people against touching the water in the reservoir, though the broader John Martin Reservoir State Park remains open. So, while fishing, paddleboarding, swimming and other activities that involve getting wet are strongly discouraged, boating that doesn’t involve direct personal contact with the water is still a go.
On Wednesday, CPW expanded its don’t-touch-the-water advisory to include 10 state wildlife areas:
- Melon Valley State Wildlife Area
- Rocky Ford State Wildlife Area
- Oxbow State Wildlife Area
- Purgatoire River State Wildlife Area
- Fort Lyon State Wildlife Area
- North Gateway Ponds State Wildlife Area
- Granada State Wildlife Area
- Deadman State Wildlife Area
- Midwestern Farms State Wildlife Area
- Holly State Wildlife Area
The advisory also covers the Las Animas State Fish Hatchery.
Some of these areas are east of John Martin Reservoir. But, so far, there is no evidence that contaminated water has come out the other side of the reservoir. A CPW spokesperson said the advisories were issued out of an abundance of caution.
Is it just E. coli that I need to worry about?
No. E. coli is bad, but it’s also what is known as an “indicator organism.”
“The assumption is that if we are measuring E. coli levels and they are high, then it is likely that other pathogen levels are also high,” said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the deputy chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Herlihy said other bugs in the water could include bacteria like Shigella or Campylobacter, viruses such as norovirus or hepatitis A, and parasites such as giardia or cryptosporidium.
Late last week, after the spill was first detected, water in the river was literally testing off the charts for E. coli. The state standard for swim beach access is no more than 235 colony-forming units of bacteria per 100 milliliters of water. On Monday, a spot on the river in Swink, about 50 miles southeast of the spill site, measured over 1,400 colony forming units.
If I get sick from any of this stuff, what happens?
Symptoms from these pathogens largely fall into the stomach bug category — vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever. Some can be quite severe, even fatal, if untreated. So, CDPHE advises thoroughly washing hands and exposed skin with soap if you touch potentially contaminated water. Wet clothes should be removed promptly and washed separately.
If you develop symptoms, reach out to a healthcare provider, especially if you are someone who could be particularly hard-hit: You’re very young or older or pregnant or have a weakened immune system.
Can I trust the state’s test results?
CDPHE’s chemistry lab faced a scandal two years ago over allegations of falsified data during testing of drinking water. The EPA revoked some of the state’s certifications for the lab.
In an update Wednesday, a CDPHE spokesperson said the lab is making “significant progress toward recertification of the drinking water program.” She also noted that those drinking water tests are different from the water quality tests needed to track the spill’s impact.
Regardless, the state is using a contracted lab in Pueblo to conduct the tests for the spill, just because it’s closer than CDPHE’s lab in Denver.
Do I need to worry about drinking water?
Nicole Rowan, the director of the Water Quality Control Division at CDPHE, said the public drinking water systems downstream from the spill site were notified in time that they could cut their systems off from the river before the plume reached them. On top of that, such systems have back-up testing in place to make sure the water they send out is clean.
“We’re very confident in the drinking water treatment we have in place,” Rowan said.
Rowan said issues with surface water likely won’t impact private wells that pull from groundwater. But well owners close to the river who are concerned that their wells may be tainted should contact the Water Quality Control Division for guidance.
Are crops from the Lower Arkansas Valley safe to eat?
There’s no indication that they aren’t.
Farms along the river are underlining their safety precautions, including some that sell directly to the public through roadside farm stands.
“It will not affect our produce,” said Eric Hanagan of Hanagan Farms, a farm in Swink producing melons, chiles and other crops.
The farm has well water for any current irrigation needs, and has shut down any water diversions in canals that might have included Arkansas River water, Hanagan said Tuesday.
Because dealing with germs that exist naturally in the soil is a part of life for farmers, produce growers already have systems for making sure what they send to the market is clean and safe. The Colorado Department of Agriculture says it is focused on safety, too.
“We are working with registered produce growers and ditch companies on the Arkansas River to provide best practices and recommendations to ensure no contaminated food enters the food supply,” the agency wrote in a statement.
The Department of Agriculture does not anticipate the spill impacting cropland long-term.
If a field were to be flooded with contaminated water, federal food safety rules recommend waiting at least 60 days after the field has sufficiently dried to replant it. This gives time for sunlight and natural processes to nuke the germs.
These new water quality challenges pile on top of earlier 2026 farming obstacles in the valley. Much of the Colorado-famous melon crop from the area was devastated in early season hail storms.
What about water in canals and ditches? Is that safe?
Ditch operators are scrambling to keep control of potentially tainted water and respond to customer instructions.
Aurora Water controls the flow of irrigation ditches along the Lower Arkansas after years of buying up water rights from farmers in the valley, including the Rocky Ford Ditch.
“We’re not sending any of that water down for irrigation,” said Rick Kienitz, Aurora Water’s resource manager for the Lower Arkansas. “We do have people that still irrigate under the Rocky Ford Ditch, and we’re not using that water for irrigation at all, it’s just going back to the river.”
Kienitz said another waterway that Aurora Water uses — the Colorado Canal — is also turning away river water to protect its supplies.
How will the river ever get clean?
Light, air, water and gravity.
When treating wastewater, systems use aeration and settling basins to help clean the water, as well as UV light.
That’s basically the same thing that’s happening now in the river and at John Martin Reservoir.
“Exposure to sunlight kills the pathogens,” Rowan said.
The reservoir will likely also help by diluting the plume and spacing out all those nasty germs in it, helping to bring levels down in any one sample.
Rowan said CDPHE is conducting daily tests to watch for when E. coli levels start dropping. The agency is posting the results on a webpage dedicated to the spill.