The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency are working together on their largest cleanup collaboration in more than 15 years at Lava Cap Mine in Nevada City. The site, contaminated with arsenic and other toxic materials from decades of gold and silver mining, requires a massive water treatment system to protect surrounding communities and wildlife. Col. Robert McTighe, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the Corps does a lot of work with the EPA, but not to this particular size and magnitude. The Corps is building the filter system, which allows them to filter the water, treat the water and then send the clean water back into the water system, McTighe said.

Other water quality and treatment news around the West:

• CapRadio (Sacramento, Calif.): Gold built the Lava Cap Mine, but arsenic won’t be its only legacy
• The Journal (Cortez, Colo.): Montezuma Water Co. completes treatment plant expansion
• The Conversation: Blog: Better guacamole? How avocado import rules helped cut Mexico’s water pollution – it holds lessons for future US trade deals