Utah and U.S. government officials will launch a study this month to determine the extent of mining pollution in Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border.
The Deseret News reports this week that heavy metals washed into Lake Powell over the decades by flash flooding will be dug up from the river deltas to assess metal concentrations.
The study will provide information about how mining affects the lake and the fish that live in it. Researchers will test for levels of arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury and lead.
The lake is a key part of a water system that provides drinking water to 40 million people in the Southwest.
