Water pumps to be put in to save town

Federal officials plan to pump from the water table near a blocked mine drainage tunnel to ease pressure from more than a billion gallons of trapped water that locals fear could cascade through the historic mining town of Leadville.

Pumps will be installed at an abandoned mine shaft next week, Lake County Commissioner Carl Schaefer said.

The move will give federal officials time to work on a plan to drill into the damaged tunnel, then pump backed-up contaminated water to a treatment plant. Work on the project could begin as early as spring, said Peter Soeth of the Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the tunnel.