Pueblo residents lose trust after more than 4 million gallons of sewage dumped into Arkansas River
More than four million gallons of untreated sewage containing harmful bacteria were dumped into the Arkansas River in Pueblo this week. While officials are working to mitigate any potential impacts from the contamination in Pueblo and communities downstream, some residents are concerned for their health.
"We walked earlier today from the City Park all the way to Runyon for a good two-hour walk, and the whole entire time we were walking, you could just smell it," said Nicoel Candelario.
Candelario and her friend Romy walked around Pueblo for hours Sunday, mostly along the Arkansas River.
"A few times, I kept looking at it," said Candelario. "I'm like, this doesn't look like our water, you know. And like people have their dogs and stuff, and I'm like, I would not even take anybody near that water."
Candelario said she's lived in Pueblo her whole life and regularly walks along the river but has never seen or smelled anything like this. While there could be other reasons for the smell, such as low water levels killing fish, they question whether it has to do with the leak.
The City of Pueblo Wastewater Department issued a warning through the weekend to avoid downstream activities after a compromised wastewater pipe let 4.2 million gallons of sewage into the river.
"It's disgusting," said Candelario. "Just to know that that's going into our water is awful."
Testing by the Pueblo County Health Laboratory confirmed extremely high levels of E.coli in the water downstream of the treatment facility.
"I don't even want to drink the water," said Candelario. "I refuse."
Although there's currently no evidence that the spill impacted drinking water, residents are still hesitant to trust it.
"It comes off the river and like they clean it, but still, how do we know how clean it is now," said Romy Castruita. "How bad could it affect our water system?"
Public health officials advise people and pets to stay away from the water downstream from Pueblo - including avoiding activities such as fishing and swimming and warn anyone who comes into contact with the river to wash up with soap and water.
"Not only our families, our kids, our elders, the community in general, what if somebody gets sick?" said Candelario.
As the sewage continues to travel downstream, officials expect it to reach the John Martin Reservoir in Hasty, Colorado, Monday morning.
According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment, the advisory to stay out of the water applies to the Arkansas River where Fountain Creek enters the river through the Reservoir, including areas near Blende, Avondale, Fowler, Manzanola, Rocky Ford, La Junta, and Las Animas.