Towns and tribes block intake of river water polluted by Colorado mine spill

Farmers, towns and tribes slammed water intake gates shut as a sludge-laden plume from a Colorado mine spill rolled down principal rivers in the desert Southwest on Monday, prompting local officials and families to demand answers about possible long-term threats from heavy metals borne along by the spill.

Colorado and New Mexico declared stretches of the Animas and San Juan rivers to be disaster areas as the orange-colored waste stream estimated to be 100 miles long churned downstream toward Lake Powell in Utah after the spill Wednesday at the abandoned Gold King Mine.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-navajo-nation-colorado-mine-spill-20150810-story.html