The mission of the Animas River Stakeholders Group (ARSG) is to improve water quality and habitats in the Animas River through a collaborative process designed to encourage participation from all interested parties.

Participants include mining companies, elected officials, local citizens and interest groups, environmental organizations, and landowners, including federal and state agencies. This innovative process holds open meetings allowing all parties to participate at a level suited to their interest and need. The group usually meets on the third Thursday of every month in Silverton, Colorado. Working group meetings, handling specific issues to put before the full group, normally meet immediately preceding the monthly meeting.

The Upper Animas Watershed has a long history of extensive metal mining as an economic mainstay dating back to the 1880s. Headwaters contamination in the Silverton vicinity is from both mining activities and natural sources. In 1995 the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission adopted stricter standards for certain segments of the upper Animas with a delayed effective date at the Stakeholders’ request. The Commission then empowered the Animas River Stakeholders to locate and evaluate sources of metals contamination, determine potential improvement, and prioritize sites for remediation in order to recommend achievable water quality standards and use classifications.

The Stakeholder process involves the extensive collection and analysis consolidation of the chemical, physical, and biological components necessary to assess the impacts of contamination on aquatic life and habitat throughout the Basin. Using this watershed approach, the Stakeholders will synthesize scientific findings with economic, social, and political consideration to influence future regulatory and land management decisions.

The Animas River Basin database is a collection of data gathered since 1990 to the present. Information has been assembled by a multitude of agencies, stakeholders, and private corporations. The data is placed into an Excel format, which is easily exported to many spreadsheet database software formats. Last Updated November, 2005.

The counts below were calculated in mid-1996, and reflect significantly fewer than the current numbers. There are many other sites that are now included in the data spreadsheets; latitude and longitude information and/or descriptions are included where available for these other sites. For more information contact Bill Simon (ARSG Coordinator) at (970) 385-4138.

Agencies and Observations:

Observation Types:

Not all sample observations have been given a type classification.

Number of Sites by Agency:

All parameters in ug/1 except where noted in item name (Example: T_PHOS_MG)

-9 = Parameter not sampled for
-1 = Below Detection Limit. Note: differing agencies and laboratories have differing detection limits.
0 or blank = No Data collected for this parameter. If no data is entered for a specific parameter at a site, then by default, zero's or blanks are placed in the field.

Directions for download:

Internet Explorer - if you double click on the data file listed below, your browser will open Excel and display the spreadsheet - you can then save it from there.
IE and Netscape Users - If PC users would like to download directly to their hard drive, right mouse click then chose "Save Target As."

• The Upper Animas River
  (Baker's Bridge north of Durango and upstream on the main stem of the Animas River)
• Lower Animas Watershed
  (below Baker's Bridge to the confluence with the San Juan River in New Mexico)
• Cement Creek Watershed
• Mineral Creek Watershed
• Springs and Seeps
• Drinking Water Standards
• Animas Macroinvertebrates