By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The liquid fertilizer spill blamed for killing up to 20,000 fish in the Maumee River over the weekend has not reached Bowling Green’s water intake, according to the city’s utility director.
But precautions are being taken at the BG water treatment plant, just to be prudent.
“We’re not seeing any elevated nitrate levels in the river,” nor has a fish kill been seen in the area near the city’s intake in the Maumee River, said Brian O’Connell, the city’s utility director.
The Ohio EPA surmised that the high water in the Maumee River diluted the fertilizer before it reached the city’s water intake located between Grand Rapids and Waterville.
But just in case, the Bowling Green water treatment plant is using water previously pumped from the river. “We’re trying to use the reservoir just to be cautious,” O’Connell said Tuesday morning.
The liquid fertilizer spill occurred on July 3, with an estimated 750,000 gallons being released near Huston Creek in the Holgate area, according to Wood County Emergency Management Agency Director Jeff Klein.
Crews traced the fertilizer spill back to Tri-Way Nitrogen, which operates out of Farmers Elevator Associates. The two companies reportedly responded immediately and brought in contractors to create earthen dams to contain and remove the pollution.
But on July 5, the primary dam failed. However, a secondary dam was holding back contamination and vacuum trucks were put to use removing the contamination.
But when the Henry County area got hit with heavy rain this past Saturday, all three dams were breached. The liquid fertilizer escaped into the Maumee River – where its ammonia content was high enough to delete oxygen in the river, resulting in a fish kill of an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 fish along 11 miles of the Maumee River.
As a precaution, the city of Napoleon has been drawing raw water from the Wauseon Reservoir on a temporary basis, not the Maumee River. The city plans to use reservoir water until the Ohio EPA declares the contamination no longer exists.
Klein said water testing showed the Napoleon water from the Maumee River intake was well within the limits of regulations – but that city is also continuing to take precautions to calm concerns.
Klein said it’s not uncommon to have fertilizers leach into waterways. He recommended that anyone who sees the early signs of dead fish and abnormal plant life call the Ohio EPA or Wood County EMA to report possible contaminations.
