News release: “Uranium mining near the Grand Canyon could have health impacts and erode trust in the safety of drinking water supplies for 26 million residents of Southern California, Nevada and Arizona, the region’s water suppliers warn. In a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the Lower Colorado River Water Partnership expressed concern that the draft environmental study for a plan that could allow uranium mining near the Canyon does not address worst-case scenarios should safeguards fail to prevent radioactive material from flowing downstream. The Partnership also said it had “substantial concerns” that uranium mining could deplete water supplies in the drought-prone region. The Lower Colorado River Water Partnership includes the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves 19 million people in the Los Angeles basin; the Central Arizona Project, which supplies drinking and agricultural water to 80 percent of the state, including metro Phoenix and Tucson, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority, with 2 million customers in the Las Vegas metro area. All draw much of their water from the Colorado River after it passes through the Grand Canyon and is stored at Hoover Dam.”