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Residents and a hydrogeologist press Santa Cruz supervisors to act after antimony exceedances in Harshaw Creek
Summary
A technical presentation and multiple public comments urged the Board of Supervisors to press ADEQ and South 32 for more monitoring and to reopen the aquifer protection permit after repeated antimony alerts in Harshaw Creek and signs of mobilized contamination affecting private wells.
A wave of public concern over water quality punctuated the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors’ Feb. 4 study session, as residents and a local hydrogeologist presented data they say show repeated antimony exceedances tied to mine discharge and asked the county to press regulators and the company for more monitoring and protections.
Chris Gardner, a registered geologist with nearly 25 years practicing hydrogeology and representing Friends of Sonoita Creek, told the board he found multiple instances where antimony in discharge and downstream wells exceeded alert levels and said available monitoring does not capture what is happening in stream-channel sediments. "We're going to need to collect data forever to help protect human health and the environment," Gardner said during his technical presentation.
Gardner detailed the hydrology of Harshaw Creek, showed cross sections of the basin‑filled stream sediments downstream of the mine outfall, and presented time-series data that he said track…
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