As a Colorado Aquifer Runs Low, Dangerous Heavy Metals Threaten Rural Communities’ Drinking Water
Key takeaways
- Republish Anna Vargas, of Manassa, Colorado, is a sixth-generation resident of the San Luis Valley who is deeply embedded in local water management initiatives.
- “All of a sudden it looks different, tastes different, there’s odor, there’s color,” said Zahringer.
- Zahringer’s SDC Laboratory is one of the few testing water in the San Luis Valley, an 8,000-square-mile, high-altitude desert in south-central Colorado.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
Republish Anna Vargas, of Manassa, Colorado, is a sixth-generation resident of the San Luis Valley who is deeply embedded in local water management initiatives. She hasn’t drank her own tap water in years out of fear of contamination. Credit: Jacob Spetzler/Inside Climate News Related Disaster Declarations Ripple Through South Texas Amid Water Crisis Facing Drought and Low Snowpack, Rio Grande States Expect a Challenging Year Colorado River Negotiators Are Nearly Out of Time and Snowpack Share This Article Republish Most Popular California’s Battery Array Is as Powerful as 12 Nuclear Power Plants. Here’s What’s on the Horizon. Trump Administration Targets Bison on Federal Grazing Lands California Will Soon Have More Than 300 Data Centers. Where Will They Get Their Water? Julie Zahringer hears a common refrain at her environmental laboratory in Alamosa, Colorado: A customer has been drinking well water on family land where they’ve lived for years, but recently noticed it has changed. They want to know why.
“All of a sudden it looks different, tastes different, there’s odor, there’s color,” said Zahringer.
Zahringer’s SDC Laboratory is one of the few testing water in the San Luis Valley, an 8,000-square-mile, high-altitude desert in south-central Colorado. She has tested thousands of wells during more than 30 years in the field.