There is an “elevated risk of illness” at some popular recreation sites at Boysen State Park and Boysen Reservoir in Fremont County due to E. coli contamination from an upstream wastewater discharge, the department reports of Wyoming Environmental Quality.
However, the DEQ and the federal Environmental Protection Agency say there does not appear to be any broader threat to drinking water supplies in the area.
DEQ tested for E. coli contamination after approximately 210,000 gallons of treated wastewater were discharged from water treatment lagoons in Hudson into the Middle Fork Popo Agie River on May 31.
The agency was discouraging people from swimming at some recreation sites at Boysen State Park.
“The results indicate an elevated risk of illness for recreators participating in immersive or similar activities, such as swimming or playing in the water, in the lakeside area. The lakeside area is located at the south end of Boysen Reservoir, near the U.S. Highway 26 bridge,” according to a Friday statement from the DEQ.
“No elevated risk of illness was detected for recreationalists further north on the reservoir at Sandy Hills Campground, Fremont Bay Campground, or Tough Creek Campground,” according to the DEQ.
Hudson is a small town halfway between Riverton and Lander in Fremont County, and approximately 50 miles upstream from Boysen Reservoir.
The reservoir and state park are popular for camping, swimming, fishing, boating and other activities.
Hudson report not required
Cowboy State Daily filed a public records request this week for a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) form submitted by the city of Hudson as a result of the discharge.
However, no such form was submitted, DEQ Public Information Supervisor Kimberly Mazza stated in an email response to Cowboy State Daily.
“A sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) is defined as a release of untreated sewage that impacts the water of the United States as a result of the partial or untreated release of wastewater from a municipal wastewater collection system prior to get to a wastewater treatment facility,” he said. fed up.
There was no raw sewage in the Hudson discharge, Mazza wrote.
“The increased discharge that occurred at the Hudson wastewater treatment facility does not meet the criteria for an SSO because (1) the Hudson discharge was treated wastewater, not raw wastewater, and (2) the Discharge occurred at the Hudson Permitted Wastewater Treatment Facility, not the Hudson Wastewater Treatment Facility. wastewater collection system before reaching the treatment facility,” he stated. “Therefore, the City of Hudson is not required to submit an SSO form to the DEQ for this event.”
EPA says drinking water is safe
The federal Environmental Protection Agency also determined that wastewater was not involved, agency spokeswoman Marisa Lubeck wrote in an email response to a request for information from Cowboy State Daily.
“EPA reviewed the potential impacts to public water systems located downstream from this incident. There do not appear to be contamination concerns due to the high water flows in the Popo Agie River and the location of the downstream groundwater wells,” Lubeck said.
“It is important to note that the sewage released had been treated and was not raw sewage. The quality of the water released was similar to that normally discharged, but in a larger than normal volume,” he added.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
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