What We Do

Communities for Clean Water (CCW) works to safeguard clean water in the Rio Grande watershed. Our mission is to ensure that community waters impacted by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are kept safe for drinking, agriculture, sacred ceremonies, and a sustainable future.

We amplify community voices and empower collective action in order to stop LANL’s toxic discharges from polluting the waters of Los Alamos County, tribal communities surrounding LANL,the City of Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, the Espanola Valley, the City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, and other downstream communities. As part of our work, CCW also prepares young people to become leaders and champions for clean water.

Find out more about:

• How We Protect Community Waters
• Victories
• News and Updates

Image credit: Sacred Trust map by Deborah Reade

The Problem

Toxic waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory continues to enter the waters of the Rio Grande watershed—including drinking water shared by tribal communities, Santa Fe, Espanola Valley, Albuquerque, Los Alamos, and other surrounding communities.

In the early 1990s, the Department of Energy (DOE) identified over 2,100 unlined dump sites at LANL containing harmful toxins including:

• PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenlys) – industrial chemicals banned in 1977 that are known to cause cancer, damage to the thyroid, liver, and stomach, impair reproduction, cause birth defects, change the immune system, and alter behavior in animals.
• Gross Alpha Radiation – Known to cause cancer, especially when inhaled or ingested.
• Heavy metals and radionuclides, such as plutonium, tritium, chromium-6, mercury, arsenic, copper, silver, uranium, and zinc.
• Industrial chemicals such as 1,4-dioxane, benzo-a-pyrene, and perchlorate.

These toxins readily bind to soil, and each time there is a rainstorm or snowstorm, they are washed into the many canyons on LANL property. From the canyons, the toxins flow into wetlands, streams, rivers, and to groundwater. Fast-moving toxins have reached the Rio Grande in a matter of years, traveling from unlined dumps to springs that flow to the river. When disturbed by stormwater, forest fires, or human activity, toxins are also released into the air and enter the water of downwind and downstream communities.

Find out more about:

• Evidence
• Whether your water is at risk

Image credit: Los Alamos National Labs