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Navajo Nation Opens San Juan River For Livestock

Alexa Rogals/The Daily Times via AP

Livestock will again be able to use the San Juan River now that Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye says the river is safe again.

Watering activity was suspended in the wake of the Gold King Mine spill in southern Colorado in August.

The Gallup Independent reports that the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency Water Quality Program advised the president that the river was safe for livestock based on samples collected from the river.

Officials are monitoring the river for potential long-term effects of the mine waste. Testing in August found heavy metals in the water that were at levels above what is recommended for humans or livestock.

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