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Residents and local scientist urge increased water monitoring amid mining discharges
Summary
Public commenters told the Patagonia Town Council that recent data show elevated antimony downstream from a well and a spike in selenium, and urged the town to press for independent, more frequent monitoring and a dye‑tracer study linked to nearby mining activity.
Public commenters at the Patagonia Town Council meeting urged the town to press for expanded, independent monitoring of surface water and groundwater after presenters said mining‑related discharges have recorded elevated contaminants.
Carolyn Schaeffer, introduced by the chair during the public‑comment period, told the council that the Town's Flood and Flow Committee has long recommended a comprehensive groundwater study and independent third‑party monitoring to establish critical baselines. "Water is life," Schaeffer said, arguing that those protections should be written into any community benefits and protections agreement.
Alex Johnson, who the chair introduced before his remarks, told the council he has been attending county supervisors' meetings and warned that the mining company South 32 recently requested a waiver of a permit requirement. "South 32 really is doing things that they need to be held accountable for," Johnson said, asking the town to review the matter and consider placing it on a future agenda.
Chris Gardner presented the meeting's technical update and asked the council for written support for additional monitoring. Gardner said the concentration of antimony in the Susan Wethington well "remains high above the drinking water standard," and reported antimony detection in groundwater about 3 miles downstream near Rocking Chair Ranch. He also said selenium concentrations showed a recent increase (reported in the transcript as a rise "from about 1 parts per million to 7 parts per billion"). Gardner said discharge had been zero earlier but resumed recently, and he asked the council for a letter to the ADQ and the U.S. Forest Service backing a dye‑tracer study. He asked that the ADQ reopen the APP to require weekly monitoring of the discharge point and to include monitoring wells along Harshaw Creek.
The council did not take formal action on these requests at the meeting. The chair noted that some of the topic details were not on the evening's agenda and therefore could not be acted on during the session; members may ask staff to place the matter on a future agenda for formal consideration.
The town has not yet adopted specific monitoring requirements or a formal letter of support; public commenters and the technical presenter asked the council to pursue those steps pending further staff review or a future agenda item.
