Clear Creek is, and always has been, the heart of Golden. Our original settlers chose this location because the Creek provided water for drinking and agriculture. The plentiful native trout who lived in the stream were a nice bonus.
The remarkable pellucidity of its waters, filled as they were with myriads of trout, and the banks skirted with countless pensile willows and waving cottonwoods made it the admiration of all, and it was voted an ideal spot for a camping ground, a veritable haven of rest after more than two months journey with ox teams across the arid plains from St. Joe., Mo.
- Transcript founder George West in 1905, recalling his 1859 arrival in Golden
Regular readers of this history column will know that Clear Creek hasn't always been as clean and clear as it now is. For about a century, it was the repository of industrial waste, mine run-off, and raw sewage from the headwaters on down to its confluence with the Platte River.
42 Years Ago
The September 14, 1982 Golden Transcript announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) might build a water treatment plant at the Argo Tunnel in Idaho Springs.
Since around 1900 sulfuric acid and heavy toxic metals have been seeping out of about 20 abandoned gold mines near Idaho Springs into the 4-mile long historic Argo Tunnel between Idaho Springs and Central City, according to Bill Rothenmeyer, an EPA civil engineer. This contaminated water then drains into Clear Creek, which is used for drinking water in Golden.
Although Golden's water treatment plant filters the water of the zinc, iron, magnese [manganese], copper, lead and cabrium [cadmium], aquatic life in the creek is not so fortunate. Although an angler "may find a stray trout here and there downstream," the water is too polluted to support animal life, said Rothenmeyer.
The worst problems occur during periodic "blowouts" when accumulated mine debris backs up water. The debris is discharged from the tunnel. In May 1980 a blowout turned the water brown all the way to the North Platte River, said Rothenmeyer. For a couple of days the water was especially contaminated, and had Golden not been warned to shut its headgates, the drinking water would have been polluted, said Rothenmeyer.
This was not an uncommon occurrence.
48 Years Ago
The September 30, 1976 Transcript reported that Clear Creek had turned bright orange the day before. According to the EPA, “the coloring came from iron oxide-saturated water flushed out of a mine just downstream from Blackhawk after weekend rains. [They speculate that] water accumulated in ponds in the mine as a result of numerous rains over the past month. An EPA investigator located the pollution source but was unable to get into the mine.”
You may recall a similar incident involving the Animas River in 2015. An EPA contractor ruptured a dam on an old mine and released contaminated water into the river. The High Country News described the water that time as “…a very bright orange color, and it was very silty…. You could see the sludge roiling around in the water. It was a shocking sight.”
The proposed water treatment plant at the Argo Tunnel was eventually approved and built. It came online in 1998. Since then, Clear Creek has been dramatically cleaner when it enters Golden.
Many thanks to the Golden Rotary Club for sponsoring for sponsoring Golden History Moments for the month of September.
