PUEBLO, Colo. (KOAA) — The Pueblo Health Department and state officials are urging the public to stay out of the Arkansas River east of Confluence Park following a spill of over 4 million gallons of raw sewage into the waterway.
Testing conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment revealed contamination levels 24 times above normal. E. coli was also confirmed present in the water.
Watch the video report below:
Corinne Koehler, who said she cares deeply about the waterway, expressed concern about the river's low water levels and what that means for recovery.
"You can tell that the river is extremely low," Koehler said. "We're concerned about the flow of the river and how long it's gonna take for all of the sewage to flow and be diluted."
Koehler also raised concerns about what remains in the water.
"It's a real concern about what is in it," she said.
As contamination moves eastward downstream, several rural communities that rely on the river for agriculture have been put on notice, including Las Animas, La Junta and Rocky Ford.
Koehler said the downstream impact raises food safety questions.
"They have to make sure that their product that they are growing is going to be safe, and we are eating that product, so we want to make sure that it's safe," Koehler said.
Public officials do not currently have a timeline for when it may be safe to recreate in the water.
"We really need to take a look at how we can make sure this doesn't happen again," Koehler said.
___
Colorado girl surprised by bear in kitchen
A bear snuck into a kitchen in the Broadmoor area of Colorado Springs this summer. It was all caught on camera when an eight-year-old went to see what was making all the noise!
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
