BY EMERY COWAN
An unexpected influx of water at a uranium mine near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon has forced the mine owner to bring in evaporation devices and large water hauling trucks to keep onsite holding ponds from overflowing.
Large volumes of winter snow and rain, low seasonal evaporation rates and high initial inflows from a perched aquifer pierced by the mine shaft caused water levels in the ponds to rise, according to Energy Fuels, the mine’s owner.
According to a company spokesperson, uranium concentrations in the pond water measure about 0.09 parts per million, which is three times the federal drinking water standard of 0.03 parts per million...