STORM LAKE – Water testing found that a small amount of industrial cleaner that reached a storm sewer had little if any negative impact on Storm Lake.
A small amount of industrial cleaner at the Tyson-Hillshire plant reached a storm sewer that flows to Storm Lake Friday afternoon. The cleaner, which was mixed from powder, covered a 40-foot by 200-foot area and was supposed to go to the plant’s wastewater system. After experiencing equipment problems, the cleaning fluid ran across the parking lot to a rain garden where eventually some of the mixture reached a storm sewer due to snow melt.
Testing was done where the storm sewer flows into Storm Lake and pH levels indicated that the cleanser was diluted enough to have not had any significant impacts to water quality.
The company placed sandbags to reduce the flow of the fluid to the storm sewer and pumped water from the rain garden Friday evening to return to the facility’s wastewater treatment system.