Story highlights Navajo Nation is among the communities affected by the Gold King Mine spill

Leader wants to take legal action against the EPA

(CNN) On the Navajo reservation, the leader of the community of Shiprock worries about the corn, melons, squashes and other crops that could be lost if water from the San Juan River can't be drawn for irrigation.

The New Mexico farmers stopped drawing water from the river following the August 5 wastewater spill at a mine in Colorado into a river system that carried the pollutants to the reservation.

Preliminary tests in Colorado and New Mexico point to the spill having minimum risk of adverse health affects, but Shiprock Chapter President Duane "Chili" Yazzie will wait for a definitive all-clear before using the water on crops.

Rainfall this week bought the farmers more time, Yazzie said, but the next week is crucial. Some 750 families rely on farming for food, he said.

Communities up and down the Animas and San Juan rivers have been affected by the 3 million gallons of wastewater that spilled into the rivers, but the Navajo Nation in New Mexico appears to have the most at risk.

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