WEST DES MOINES - DNR staff are investigating the source of red paint colorant that reached a tributary of Walnut Creek in West Des Moines and Clive.
Monday, a Home Depot employee evidently flushed the colorant into a stormwater intake at the West Des Moines store near 36th Street and University Avenue. The material flowed into a stormwater basin before flowing downstream into the tributary.
The colorant has not reached Walnut Creek. Staff from the cities of West Des Moines and Clive contained the colorant in the tributary. Home Depot is seeking an environmental contractor for the cleanup.
As a precaution, residents near Indian Hills Woods from Northwest 100th Street to Lincoln Avenue in Clive should keep children and pets away from the tributary. The diluted material should not be a risk to aquatic life.
DNR will monitor the cleanup and consider appropriate enforcement action.