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• Comprehensive Analyli~l ReSUIU Report Fast and Wcs[ Willow Crcek This is because the samples were taken from the north bank of the river where the metals concentrations will tend to be higher. The large flow rates of the Rio Grande used in the loading calculation gives erroneously high load values. 6.0 SOIL. EXPOSURE. AIR AND GROUND WATER PATHWAYS The risk posed to human health or the environment by the on-site pathway for the sources identified is considered to be minimal. There are no persons living on-site or within 200 feet of any of the identified ounces. The sources located along East Willow Creek are greater than 1-mile from the nearest residents. Sources located along Willow Creek, south of Creede, are either covered (eg. Emperious tailings), '- -j egetated, or contained within sarurated to neaz-sarurated conditions along the floodplain. ~. ~~I'he risk posed to human health or the environment by the air pathway for the sources identified is also I. considered to be minirr,al. Although the sources located along East Willow Creek are uncovered and L _ -~ access is not restricted, these sources are located more than 1-mile from the nearest residents. South of F` !._Creede, in the floodplain of Willow Creek, the Emperious tailings pile is covered with gravel, minimizing the chance of exposure. The potential for contact with other, diffuse sources along Willow Creek below Creede is minimized by the flood plain environment which narurally restricts usage and development. The neazest ground water wells used for drinking water aze located approximately one and one-half miles south of known sources along Highway 149. Most of the wells in the area are installed into the surficial alluvial aquifer of the Rio Grande River which is generally under water-table conditions and in hydrologic communication with the Rio Grande River. It is considered unlikely that mining related contaminants have impacted the Rio Grande aquifer and therefore this pathway was not evaluated as part of this investigation. 7.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Source samples collected from the major mine dumps located throughout the district indicate that large volumes of source material containing elevated metals concentrations are available for release to surface waters. Aqueous source samples collected from the Nelson Tunnel on West Willow Creek and the 13