Many people believe that collecting rainfall in Colorado is illegal. But that is like saying that diverting water from a river or well is illegal. Colorado water law governing the diversion and use of all tributary water, including rainfall, is basically the same regardless of its source.

When Sunnyside Mining Company ended operations in Silverton in 1991, it negotiated a court decree to plug mine outlet tunnels, including the main access, the American Tunnel, with bulkheads. But the bulkheads raised the subterranean water level tremendously, increasing pressure that created drainage in nearby mines that had been mostly dry.

The upper Animas River could be in for a little relief. The new River Protection Workgroup holds its first meeting June 23 with the aim of “protecting values” on the Animas River upstream of Baker’s Bridge. The meeting is set for 5:30 p.m.

The meeting will take place at Kendall Mountain Recreation Center in Silverton. For additional information, contact Marsh Porter-Norton, Facilitator, River Protection Workgroup at 970-247-8306 (O and F), 759-3110 (C), or
porternorton@bresnan.net.

Animas River Days will kick off Friday with a long list of activities on both water and land in its 25th-plus outing. Returning are longtime favorites such as the Kayak Slalom, Down River Race and River Parade. Also returning will be last year’s new event, the Inflatable Rodeo.

Efforts to change federal law to protect groups willing to cleanup polluting mines from legal liability have hit a snag, according to the Obama administration. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said last week that legislative gridlock is keeping President Barrack Obama from his pledge to change the

A meeting in Silverton this week concerning heavy-metal contamination of the Animas River increased public knowledge of the problem but produced no immediate solutions. “We wanted to bring people up to date on the quality of water in the Animas and why it’s getting worse,” Pete