LM Now an Established Presence at Western Colorado Children’s Water Festival

Office of Legacy Management (LM) Site Manager Sara Woods has established herself as a seasoned veteran of the Western Colorado Children's Water Festival in Grand Junction.

LM Support Partners Sam Campbell and Ashton Andrade have also become regular features of the festival that takes place each May at Las Colonias Park in Grand Junction. As they've done for the past five years, Campbell and Andrade supported Woods's presentation, "Go With The Flow," at the park. This year, Interpretive Specialist Stefanie Paeg, on loan from LM's Fernald Preserve Visitor Center near Cincinnati, joined her Grand Junction colleagues at the May 11-12 festival.

The water festival is the largest of its kind in Colorado, "inspiring students and celebrating water education," festival organizers said. About 1,500 fifth-graders from across western Colorado attend the festival every spring. LM was one of 41 presenters on the schedule this year, welcoming 14 groups of students over a two-day period.

"Over the years, the water festival brings more laughter, learning, and fun," Woods said. "Each class of fifth graders is unique in the history that they know of Las Colonias, the curiosity that they have of what LM's responsibility is at the site, and of course, an overwhelming excitement to get wet!"

Every year, LM's team presents an overview of the history of Las Colonias, the site of a former mill where uranium was processed for the U.S. government during the Manhattan Project and Cold War years. Andrade explains that mill tailings from the site that had been used as fill dirt in the community were removed and relocated to a disposal cell 18 miles southeast of Grand Junction, for which LM is responsible.

When Andrade asks each class if anyone has ever heard of uranium, the answers are often amusing, and always illuminating. The kids have developed their own lexicon, and terms such as "clicky sand" (for the sound a Geiger counter makes) and "radioactive trash can" (a disposal cell) convey a message that resonates with young minds.

"When you hear the word 'legacy,' what do you think about?" Andrade asked. "I think of, like, a superhero movie," a boy said, to the thoughtful bemusement of the adults.

With the history of the site spelled out, Campbell demonstrates how LM scientists continue to collect water samples from the Colorado River, flowing past LM's station just a few yards away. Campbell explains the concepts of turbidity, conductivity, pH balance, and temperature, and tells the kids about how LM is monitoring the water to ensure the naturally occurring levels of uranium, magnesium, calcium, iron, selenium, and sodium are all within acceptable standards.

Because the site at Las Colonias has been deemed safe after cleanup, the former industrial area has been returned to the community for beneficial reuse, and has become a valuable asset. LM's long-term surveillance ensures the remedy will continue to protect human health and the environment.

"Las Colonias is well-known throughout the Grand Valley as a great place to catch a concert at the amphitheater, or visit the dog park, or float the Lazy River, or just walk along the river trail," Woods said. "It's a prime example of a best-case scenario for not only the community, but also for LM."