Today in red state failure: Nebraska likely buying polluted water from Colorado

The Greater Missouri Basin supplies water to some 100 million Americans but it's at risk to sprawl and the disappearance of the American West.

Today, the Ogallala or High Plains Aquifer is being depleted six and a half times faster than its recharge rate and nearly all the groundwater sampled from it is contaminated with uranium and nitrates from industrial agriculture so Nebraska is buying land to build a Platte River canal to tap into Colorado's water. 

But a burning coal seam that might have contributed to the Marshall Fire in Boulder County evaporated over a thousand homes, caused over two billion dollars in damage and released tons of deadly emissions. Coal Creek and Boulder Creek are tributaries of the Platte River which ultimately flows into the Missouri in Nebraska.

Urban conflagrations consume a mix of synthetic and natural materials, including homes, vehicles, electronics and household chemicals. For humans, contaminated watersheds can compromise drinking water sources by requiring extensive water treatment or even making some water supplies temporarily unusable. By measuring stormwater, we were able to show that these pollutants were conveyed by concrete drainage systems that quickly funneled the water into the creek. Nutrients from burned vegetation are likely stimulating algae growth, while toxic metals from the urban fire debris seem to be negatively affecting sensitive organisms such as mayflies. While Coal Creek isn’t a source of drinking water, it is used for irrigation and recreation. [Urban wildfires disrupt streams and their tiny inhabitants − losing these insects is a warning of bigger water problems]

Learn more at KUNC.