Stars and Bars RestorationBack in late August, a wastewater treatment plant in Pueblo released roughly 4 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Arkansas River. CDPHE was notified on Thursday, August 27, after the spill had begun the day before. We wrote about the immediate fallout at the time — the water contact advisory that stretched from Pueblo down through the Lower Arkansas Valley all the way to John Martin Reservoir.
Most people assumed that story was finished when CDPHE lifted the advisory for John Martin Reservoir on September 4. It isn't.
As of late September, E. coli readings are failing the state's swim-beach standard at nearly every sampling site from Pueblo to Holly — and the stretch of river directly below John Martin Dam, which had come back clean and stayed clean for three straight weeks, is now failing too. That's new territory. Holly and Granada, both in Prowers County, are well past where the original advisory geography focused, and CDPHE hasn't put out a news release on the spill since that September 4 announcement, even as the numbers have gone back up.
What's actually happened since the spill
The timeline, pieced together from CDPHE's own spill page and local reporting, looks like this:
- August 26-27: The spill occurs and is discovered; roughly 4 million gallons of untreated wastewater enters the Arkansas River from Pueblo's treatment facility.
- Late August - early September: A water contact advisory covers the river from where Fountain Creek meets the Arkansas, through Pueblo, Avondale, Fowler, Manzanola, Rocky Ford, La Junta, and Las Animas, down to John Martin Reservoir.
- September 4: CDPHE lifts the advisory for John Martin Reservoir after samples came back clean; the advisory for the river above the dam (through La Junta) stays in place because readings there are still elevated.
- Early-to-mid September: Readings at Lamar spike well above the public safety threshold (one September 1 sample came back at 613 CFU/100mL against a 235 CFU/100mL standard), then a rain event around September 12-15 pushes E. coli concentrations from Pueblo down to Las Animas back up again — while the river below John Martin stays clean for the time being.
- Late September: The most recent data shows the opposite pattern below the dam — E. coli is now failing standards from Pueblo all the way to Holly, and the stretch below John Martin that had been clean for three weeks is failing too.
In plain terms: this isn't a one-time event that resolved itself. It's a contamination problem that keeps flaring back up with rain runoff and has now reached farther downstream than it had before, into Prowers County communities like Lamar, Granada, and Holly.
Why this matters if you live along the river
If your property sits anywhere near the Arkansas River corridor between Pueblo and Holly, a few things are worth taking seriously right now:
Private wells near the river. Shallow wells close to the riverbank can be hydraulically connected to the river itself, especially after high water or heavy rain pushes water into the surrounding soil. If your well is within a few hundred feet of the river and you haven't had it tested recently, now is a reasonable time to do it — a basic bacteriological test from a certified lab is inexpensive compared to what a contaminated water supply can cost you in health problems.
Basements and crawl spaces that flood from groundwater. In low-lying areas along the river — parts of Lamar, Granada, and the farm properties in between — groundwater levels track the river closely. If your basement or crawl space has ever taken on water during high river flow, that water should be treated as contaminated (what IICRC calls Category 3, or "black water") until proven otherwise, not just cleaned up like an ordinary leak.
Irrigation and livestock water. If you pull irrigation water directly from the river or use river-adjacent ponds for livestock, it's worth checking current advisories before assuming things are back to normal, since the "advisory lifted" headline from early September doesn't reflect where things stand today.
Recreational contact. Kids, dogs, and anyone wading or fishing in the river between Pueblo and Holly should stay out of the water until levels are confirmed to be back under the standard — not just "improving."
Sewage contamination isn't like a normal water leak
We've handled plenty of sewage backups over the years — septic and sewage cleanup work across Southern Colorado taught us that the biggest mistake people make is treating contaminated water like it's just wet carpet. It isn't. Raw sewage carries bacteria (including E. coli), viruses, and parasites that can survive in soil, wood, and porous materials long after the water itself has receded or dried.
If your home has taken on river water, floodwater, or groundwater in an area affected by this spill:
- Don't just mop and move on. Porous materials — carpet padding, drywall, insulation — that contacted contaminated water usually need to come out, not just dry out.
- Keep kids and pets away from affected areas until they've been properly disinfected.
- Document everything with photos before cleanup, in case you need it for an insurance claim or a claim against the responsible party.
- If in doubt, get it tested or get a professional opinion before you decide it's "probably fine."
Our technicians are IICRC certified in water damage and biohazard cleanup, and we've done this kind of contamination-specific remediation before, including after last month's spill reached Rocky Ford, La Junta, and the Lower Arkansas Valley. If you're in Lamar, Granada, Holly, or anywhere else along this stretch of river and you're not sure whether something in your home needs professional attention, call us at (719) 676-2456 — we'd rather talk you through it on the phone for free than have you guess wrong.
What we'd like to see from the state
To be fair to CDPHE, testing a river this long and complex isn't simple, and conditions change fast with every rain event. But going silent for three weeks on a public health advisory while conditions are actively getting worse downstream isn't great communication. If you live in Prowers County and want current information rather than a month-old headline, check CDPHE's spill page directly and don't assume "no news" means "all clear."
As a veteran-owned, IICRC-certified restoration company serving Lamar and the rest of the Lower Arkansas Valley, we'll keep watching this story. If you have water intrusion, sewage backup, or contamination concerns tied to this spill — or anything else — we're a phone call away: (719) 676-2456, or reach us anytime at services@sb-resto.com.