Pitkin County work group seeks more data, funding to address Lincoln Creek contamination

Pitkin County officials and outside contractors told the Board of County Commissioners on March 18 that sampling shows elevated metals and acidic water in Lincoln Creek and that the county-led Lincoln Creek Work Group is moving to a phase‑2 plan to better characterize sources and possible mitigations.

The work group formed after visual discoloration and a fish kill in Grizzly Reservoir prompted Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the EPA to investigate. Lisa Tasker of the Pitkin County Healthy Rivers Program said the EPA labeled parts of Lincoln Creek “toxic to aquatic life” based on its 2022 sampling and assessment, and that EPA found a mineralized tributary several hundred yards from the old Ruby Mine that appears to be the primary source of dissolved metals.

Why it matters: Lincoln Creek drains into the Roaring Fork River and into downstream water users; county staff and contractors said uncertainty about seasonal variation and climate impacts makes it important to collect consistent data before deciding whether and how to intervene.

Chip Fisher, an engineer with LRE Water who led a site visit and produced a phase‑1 memo for the work group, described the field observations and initial samples. Fisher said crews saw a clear change where the mineralized tributary entered Lincoln Creek, with “very…