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“One of the largest communities of Navajo farmers along the San Juan River has voted to keep irrigation canals closed for at least a year following a spill of toxic sludge at a Colorado gold mine.
The unanimous vote by more than 100 farmers in Shiprock, New Mexico, was heart-wrenching and guarantees the loss of many crops, Shiprock Chapter President Duane “Chili” Yazzie said Monday.
But he said farmers don’t want to risk contaminating the soil for future generations.”
– ABC News, Navajo Farmers Reject Use of Water After Mine Spill.
“45,000
That’s the population of the largest town affected by the spill: Farmington, New Mexico. It’s located on the spot where the Animas flows into the San Juan. The next largest municipality is Durango, Colorado, with a population of more than 17,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Navajo community around the town of Shiprock, which is downstream from Farmington on the San Juan River, is hard hit as well. Some 750 farmers there need river water to irrigate.
90
That’s how many days’ water reserves Farmington has before it will need to draw river water. Farmington’s reserves also supply nearby towns with drinking water, including Shiprock.
Some residents are concerned the heavy metal spill might seep into groundwater, poisoning wells. More than 400 Farmington residents who draw their water from wells have turned in samples for testing.
A week after the spill, tests indicate that the Animas River is returning to normal, but fears linger over possible long-term consequences. Experts say adverse health effects from heavy metal poisoning can take years to become apparent.”
– CNN, By the numbers: The massive toll of the Animas River spill.
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Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #33 – Contamination (EPA).
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
