In an attempt to answer my own questions I found this below.
Waste water from Gold King Mine reaches NM, Durango declares State of Local Emergency - 7NEWS Denver TheDenverChannel.com
Quote:
The wastewater from the mine spilling into the Animas River on Wednesday when a cleanup crew supervised by the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally breached a debris dam that had formed inside the mine.......................................
Cohen explained that the yellow-orange color in the river is mainly from iron.
He said to fully understand what happened you have to look at Colorado's mining history.
"There's a very big role for history because you're looking at a mine - the Gold King Mine and it was last worked in 1923," said Cohen.
More than 90 years ago, he said miners would pump the waste out because there were no regulations. Once they were put in place that stopped and now the Gold King Mine is one of hundreds filled with contaminated water in our state.
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That was much more informative.
And this explains why different reports were talking about different rivers.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/waste-water-from-gold-king-mine-reaches-new-mexico
Quote:
The Animas flows into the San Juan River in New Mexico, and the San Juan flows into Utah, where it joins the Colorado River in Lake Powell..........................
Officials said the contamination would likely settle into the sediment in Lake Powell. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area officials said visitors will be warned starting Monday to avoid drinking, swimming or boating on affected stretches of the lake and river until further notice............................................ .....
When the spill happened, the EPA-supervised crew was trying to enter the mine to pump out and treat the water, EPA spokeswoman Lisa McClain-Vanderpool said.
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Not an earth dam, a 90 year old debris blockage which gave way while a clean up crew supervised by the EPA was there.
Question is why would anyone be using heavy equipment in that environment? Sounds like delicate work to me.