{"id":16979,"date":"2026-09-03T00:38:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T00:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=16979"},"modified":"2026-09-03T00:38:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T00:38:50","slug":"4-million-gallons-of-sewage-spilled-into-colorados-arkansas-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=16979","title":{"rendered":"4 Million Gallons of Sewage Spilled into Colorado\u2019s Arkansas River"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>A pipe failure near Pueblo released millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into a drought-stricken stretch of one of Colorado&#8217;s most popular rivers, triggering high E. coli warnings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">People raft down the Arkansas River in Buena Vista, Colorado, on May 17, 2023. A healthy Rocky Mountain snowpack looks set to offer a bumper season for thrill-seeking white water rafters on Colorado&#8217;s rivers. Operators plying waterways fed by the US mountain range say a decent winter and a slow snowmelt should offer months of fun for those intent on hurtling over bubbling rapids. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA \/ AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA\/AFP via Getty Images)<!-- --> (Photo: Chandan Khanna\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published September 2, 2026 05:39PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Health officials in Colorado\u00a0are <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.colorado.gov\/press-release\/avoid-arkansas-river-downstream-of-pueblo-until-further-notice\">warning people<\/a> to stay out of a more than 100-mile stretch of the Arkansas River, one of America\u2019s most popular river recreation destinations, after over 4 million gallons of untreated sewage spilled into the waterway.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities with the City of Pueblo say a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.colorado.gov\/water-quality\/clean-water\/rivers-lakes-and-streams\/city-of-pueblo-wastewater-spill-into-the\">pipeline failure<\/a> caused the untreated waste to flow into the river. Health officials then detected extremely high levels of E. coli and other dangerous bacteria, as well as\u00a0viruses and parasites, as the sewage has made its way down the waterway.\u00a0It\u2019s unknown when the stretch of the Arkansas River below the spill site\u00a0will be safe for the public.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a disastrously large sewage spill for a river of this size, already under pressure from low flows and serious drought,\u201d Gary Belan, senior director of the clean water program at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanrivers.org\/\">American Rivers<\/a>, told <em>Outside<\/em>. \u201cBecause of this, the E. coli threat is likely very high and the potential for health impacts is significant if someone swims in it or swallows it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>No Word On When the River Will Be Safe<\/h2>\n<p>The spill happened near the City of Pueblo, and the advisory extends from Fountain Creek 105 miles downstream to John Martin Reservoir, near the Colorado-Kansas state line. The Colorado Department of Public Health <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/cdphe.colorado.gov\/press-release\/colorado-state-officials-working-with-produce-growers-on-the-arkansas-river-to\">says<\/a> that workers stopped the leak]on August 27, but that sections of the river still contain dangerously high levels of contaminant as the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1-hUG8c-JLdVvmJrUlQvrvhGd13kTzdDZ2EuD4zvZePo\/edit?tab=t.0\">most recent testing<\/a> from August 31.<\/p>\n<p>Untreated sewage includes anything flushed down a toilet, run through a shower, or drained in a sink. The failure involved a wastewater pipe located inside a stormwater pipe, according to the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pueblo.us\/m\/newsflash\/home\/detail\/4990\">City of Pueblo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Arkansas River At the Heart of Colorado Outdoor Summer Rec<\/h2>\n<p>The spill comes on the heels of an ongoing drought that has left the Arkansas River Basin at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradowatertrust.org\/news\/arkansas-river-flows-this-summer-and-the-health-of-its-gold-medal-fishery\/\">unusually low flow levels<\/a>. A historically <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cpr.org\/2026\/06\/18\/experts-predict-arkansas-river-lowest-water-flows-record-history\/\">low snowpack<\/a> has already stunted Colorado\u2019s angling, whitewater and recreation industries this summer, and such low river flows means the effects of the spill could be intensified, water officials told the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2026\/08\/28\/pueblo-sewage-spill-lower-arkansas-river\/\"><em>Colorado Sun<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Pueblo, a city of about 112,000, is one of Colorado\u2019s busiest summer cities for river recreation and has 11 designated public access points along the Arkansas River. The river is known for its whitewater and features several iconic sections managed across the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/cpw.state.co.us\/state-parks\/arkansas-headwaters-recreation-area\/arkansas-headwaters-recreation-area-river-sections\">Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area<\/a>. About 250,000 commercial rafting visitors explore the Arkansas River in Colorado every summer, according to the <em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2026\/05\/22\/arkansas-river-rafting-low-flows\/\">Colorado Sun<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>However, the busiest whitewater parts of the river\u2014Royal Gorge, Browns Canyon, and Salida\u2014are well upstream from the spill site and likely won\u2019t be impacted.<\/p>\n<p>Haley Sue Robinson, City of Pueblo director of public affairs, told <em>Outside<\/em>. The spill contained \u201cwater that has not been treated by the water reclamation facility to remove debris, human waste, harmful germs, viruses, parasites, metals, and grease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Belan adds that the sewage may also contaminate the wider ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuch a large amount of sewage in such a small amount of water also risks making wildlife and livestock sick, could contaminate crops that are watered with it, and has the potential to lead to significant harmful toxic algae blooms,\u201d Belan said.<\/p>\n<h2>Sewage Leaks on Public Waterways<\/h2>\n<p>In January, a similar sewage spill released an estimated <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sonomawater.org\/rrcsd-spill-faq\">5.5 million gallons<\/a> of untreated water into California\u2019s Russian River, and affected nearby popular beaches like those at Campbell Cove and Salmon Creek.<\/p>\n<p>Also in January, a sewer line in Maryland failed, releasing roughly 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River. Officials closed areas near the leak along the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&amp;O) National Historic Park, one of the 75 historic sites managed by the National Park Service (NPS).<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/environment\/arkansas-river-4-million-gallons-sewage-spill\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A pipe failure near Pueblo released millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into a drought-stricken stretch of one of Colorado&#8217;s most popular rivers, triggering high E. coli warnings. People raft down the Arkansas River in Buena Vista, Colorado, on May 17, 2023. A healthy Rocky Mountain snowpack looks set to offer a bumper season for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}