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Utah, Feds Launch Study Of Pollution In Lake Powell

Utah and U.S. government officials will begin a study to determine the extent of mining pollution in Lake Powell. 

The study begins in the next few days, and it will involve the digging up of heavy metals washed into Lake Powell by flash flooding over several decades. 

Researchers will test for levels of arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury and lead. They expect to glean information about how mining has affected the lake and the fish that live in it. 

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The project will be a cooperative effort of the Utah Division of Water Quality, the U.S. Geological Society, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 

The study comes after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accidentally triggered a massive release of wastewater laden with toxic metals at the Gold King Mine in Colorado three years ago.

The estimated 3 million gallons of wastewater carrying 540 tons of metals washed into rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and  Utah. 

Utah filed suit against the EPA, seeking $1.9 billion after the heavy-metal waste wound up in the San Juan River and in Lake Powell. The state continues to monitor the effects of that spill.

Preliminary findings of the study are expected in 2020. 

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