Opinion | The Current: The perils of nonpoint source pollution
David_Geddes
When you hear the word “pollution,” what image comes to mind? Is it a factory smokestack spewing chemicals into the air? A pipe dumping wastewater into a lake? A damaged oil rig spilling its contents into the sea?
These big, obvious sources of pollution are called “point sources,” defined by the EPA as “any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged.” Usually, you can quite literally point directly to these individual sources with your finger. A classic example of a point source of pollution in Eagle County is the Eagle Mine Superfund Site, where water treatment plants still constantly remove heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, copper, and zinc from the Eagle River as it passes through the old tailings. Though they can often be major sources of environmental harm, the clear and centralized origin of point sources make them relatively easy to monitor, measure and mitigate.
Nonpoint pollution sources, on the other hand, are a bit sneakier. This kind of pollution accumulates from lots of small, less identifiable sources. Nonpoint source pollution often enters our waterways as a result of runoff, or rain and snowmelt that carries pollutants downhill and into our streams.
Imagine all the fertilizers and pesticides used on the farmland and gardens in Eagle County; the pet waste that is not picked up; the motor oil that ends up on the pavement. All of these combine to create a serious impact on the Eagle River Watershed. Fertilizer runoff can cause algae blooms that disrupt aquatic ecosystems by blocking sunlight, reducing oxygen and disrupting nutrient cycles. Dog poop can add harmful bacteria and pathogens that disturb aquatic life, while oil and other non-organic substances are highly toxic.
In a year like this one with record-low streamflows, nonpoint source pollution becomes more concentrated in the water and can have an even stronger impact. It is very difficult to remove these kinds of pollutants from rivers, so our best hope is to dispose of them properly before they’re washed into our water.
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So what can we actually clean out of our rivers?
As a community transected by the I-70 mountain corridor, the Eagle River Valley hosts millions of visitors each year. Most come to experience the incredible beauty of our mountains, forests and streams. Unfortunately, as with any high-speed roadway, trash is bound to find its way (usually unintentionally) out of car windows and truck beds and into our riparian areas. I-70 doesn’t just coincidentally overlap with our waterways; it traces the right-of-way carved by the Eagle River over millennia. That’s why twice a year the Eagle River Coalition leads efforts to clean up as much waste from our roads and rivers as possible. Each May, we host the Community Pride Highway Cleanup to pick trash off of our roadways before runoff washes it away. Each September, we host the Eagle River Cleanup to remove waste that has already made it into our waterways.
Now in its 32nd iteration, the Eagle River Cleanup provides an opportunity for locals to step into their streams and do their part to keep them healthy. Each year, hundreds of volunteers remove literal tons of trash from the Eagle River and its tributaries, including Gore Creek in Vail, Brush Creek in Eagle, Cross Creek in Minturn and more. Organizations, businesses and groups of friends can sign up to clean a specific section of a waterway, or individuals can register to join an existing team that needs help.
At our post-cleanup celebration, our community of river lovers converge to meet like-minded individuals and determine the day’s most interesting trash (past victors have included stuffed animals, vintage pins, and even a whole coconut). The Cleanup is more than a volunteer day; it’s a decades-old tradition that showcases the Eagle Valley’s legacy of river stewardship. While there will always be nonpoint source pollution, the Eagle River Coalition will be there to protect our waterways for this and future generations.
The 32nd annual Eagle River Cleanup will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 12. We’ll be celebrating the volunteers at the Thank You Party at Eagle River Brewing in Gypsum from noon to 3 p.m. If you’d like to create a team of your own or sign up as an individual, visit our registration page at eagleriverco.org/events.
