Since Wednesday morning, a ribbon of bright orange water has been making its way down the Animas River in southwest Colorado. The cause? A million gallons of gunk pouring out of an abandoned century-old mine. The Environmental Protection Agency is already on the scene, though. Because, well, they caused it. Yeah, oops.

It’s a classic case of good intentions backfiring. The abandoned mines in the area have long been a problem, filling up with acidic wastewater that leaches heavy metals out of rock and leaks into the river—a slow-motion environmental debacle. And the EPA has been trying to designate the mines a Superfund site for years, only to come up against local resistance. The mines still aren't on the Superfund list, but the EPA has been trying to them clean up anyway. That's why a crew was digging around the Gold King Mine—they starting to investigate leaks when the mine’s plug blew, turning the slow-motion problem into a fast-moving, highly visible advertisement for fixing the problem. “It’s hard being on the other side of this,” said Dave Ostrander, the regional EPA director of emergency preparedness, at a public meeting on Friday afternoon. “We typically respond to emergencies; we don’t cause them.”

La Plata County

The EPA also revealed their test results—the mine water contains high levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium, and aluminum. The bright orange color comes from sediment. The EPA said the local sheriff’s decision to close the river to kayakers and tubers was appropriate given their numbers, though the agency didn't give specifics. The city of Durango has also stopped pumping water from the Animas River into its reservoir.

Because rivers don't respect borders, the EPA is also working with the New Mexico Environment Department to evaluate effects downstream. Oh, and even more excitingly, the Animas River feeds into the San Juan river, which feeds into the Colorado, which supplies water to much of the West. EPA officials were supposed to have another press call, which would have been an opportunity to follow up with questions about downstream effects, but technical problems forced the call's cancellation, EPA reps said.

So what now? The EPA is working to stop the flow into the river by building a retention pond next to the mine. But the contaminants already in the water? There’s nothing to do—except wait for the muck to sink or dilute down. The Bureau of Reclamation is releasing more water from the Navajo Dam to dilute the toxic metals. But spring runoff next year might stir up contaminants that have sunk to the river bottom all over again.