Construction is underway for an ambitious water delivery project in southeastern Colorado that is overdue by 60 years and, despite pledges totaling almost a quarter billion dollars, is not even half paid for.
But if successfully completed, the pipeline system will bring drinkable water to 50,000 residents who live in an area where water quality suffers from naturally occurring radioactive materials.
Currently, the water quality in the Arkansas Valley between Pueblo and Lamar is generally poor. The surface water there often contains harmful organisms and pollutants, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation . The possible solutions for these communities – facilities treating water via reverse-osmosis, ion exchange and filtration, or bottled water – are more expensive and problematic for the locals than the project’s current $600 million price tag, in the agency’s opinion.
Digging underground wells would be a solution, but for the harmful amounts of uranium and radium. These are radionuclides , a class of chemicals where the nucleus of the atom is unstable. These are natural products from ancient marine sediments which the river cuts through.