Story highlights The city of Durango and La Plata County, Colorado, declare a state of emergency

"This action has been taken due to the serious nature of the incident," says La Plata County Manager Joe Kerby

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez was in Farmington over the weekend to tour the damage

(CNN) The city of Durango and La Plata County, Colorado, have declared a state of emergency after a federal cleanup crew accidentally released mine waste into the water.

An estimated 1 million gallons of waste water spilled out of an abandoned mine area in the southern part of the state last week, turning the Animas River orange and prompting the Environmental Protection Agency to tell locals to avoid it.

"This action has been taken due to the serious nature of the incident and to convey the grave concerns that local elected officials have to ensure that all appropriate levels of state and federal resources are brought to bear to assist our community not only in actively managing this tragic incident but also to recover from it," said La Plata County Manager Joe Kerby.

According to the EPA, the spill occurred when one of its teams was using heavy equipment to enter the Gold King Mine, a suspended mine near Durango. Instead of entering the mine and beginning the process of pumping and treating the contaminated water inside as planned, the team accidentally caused it to flow into the nearby Animas River. Before the spill, water carrying "metals pollution" was flowing into a holding area outside the mine.

Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange An EPA worker takes a water reading in the Animas River near Durango, Colorado, on Friday, August 14. The river reopened for recreational use Friday afternoon in La Plata County, Colorado, where an EPA crew polluted the waterway with mine waste on August 5, authorities said. Hide Caption 1 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange The entrance area of the Gold King Mine is seen on August 14. Hide Caption 2 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange A settling pond is used on Tuesday, August 11, in Silverton, Colorado, at Cement Creek, which was flooded with millions of gallons of mining wastewater. Settling ponds are used to reduce the acidity of mining wastewater so that it carries fewer heavy metals. Hide Caption 3 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange The contaminated Animas River flows through Durango on August 7. Over 2 million gallons of mine wastewater made its way into the river, putting the city on alert. Hide Caption 4 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange Tom Bartles shared views of the river from his backyard in Durango, before and after the spill. The before shot, on the left, was captured on August 6 when Bartles was aware the spill happened and was making its way down the river to Durango. The photo showing the "after" was captured on August 7. Hide Caption 5 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange The spill caused a spike in concentrations of total and dissolved metals in the water, the EPA said. Matthew Evans shot this photo August 7. Hide Caption 6 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange Evans shot these photos outside the Durango Riverside Resort. The top photo was taken on August 4; the bottom photo was shot August 7. Hide Caption 7 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange Kayakers float along the Animas River near Durango, Colorado, on August 6, in water colored from the mine waste spill. Hide Caption 8 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange "It was devastating to see this happen to our community. I was just in the river last weekend and we all love it around here," said Ryan Urban , who shot this photo in Hermosa. "Whenever there is any type of oil spill or waste in the water, it makes me hurt for the earth." Hide Caption 9 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange Contaminated water accidentally released by the EPA turned a stretch of the Animas River orange. Hide Caption 10 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange Durango resident Ian Lucier shot several photos of the river with his drone. Hide Caption 11 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange "I got a text from a friend of mine in the morning asking if I had heard about or seen the river. At that point the orange water hadn't reached town so I headed north to see if I could find it," Lucier said. "When I first saw it, I was speechless, [the river] didn't look real." Hide Caption 12 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange Authorities asked people to stay out of the water until EPA tests confirmed the contamination had dissipated. Hide Caption 13 of 14 Photos: EPA spill turns Animas River orange "This is so insanely tragic and absolutely crazy. It feels like something out of a sci-fi novel/movie," wrote Durango native Kristen Goldman . She shot this photo August 6 from the Dalton Ranch Bridge. Hide Caption 14 of 14

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have been watching for any effects on wildlife since the incident began on Wednesday. They are optimistic that the effects of the spill on terrestrial wildlife will be minimal, the EPA said. Fish are more sensitive to changes in water.

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