The Syracuse-Turkey Creek Fire Territory responded to a fuel oil spill at 8510 E. Hatchery Road in Syracuse, flowing into Lake Wawasee, July 12.
A 250-gallon underground fuel oil tank was punctured during the demolition of a condemned building, causing fuel oil to leak into a channel flowing into the lake. As much as 200 to 250 gallons of fuel oil may have spilled into the lake, but due to the nature of the spill, the exact quantity could not be confirmed, according to a release from the Center for Lakes and Streams at Grace College.
The center along with Kosciusko County Emergency Management, Department of Natural Resources and Indiana Department of Environmental Management visited the spill site to assess the situation, according to the release. Absorbent pads on the channel banks and absorbent booms in the channel were deployed at the site to help contain the spill.
Staff from the lakes center responded to the spill to assess the incident and collect water samples at the spill site. Samples were also taken at the mouth of the channel to determine if the spill impacted the broader lake.
Sample analysis revealed no detectable levels of the chemicals tested for in Lake Wawasee as a result of the spill, according to the release. Therefore, test results revealed no evidence of chemicals entering the greater Lake Wawasee. Furthermore, no environmental effects of the spill have been reported in the lake to date.
The center is currently working with Lake Wawasee residents on the affected channel to conduct well water testing for chemicals as a result of the July fuel oil spill.
The center has responded to five spills in Kosciusko County lakes in 2015 alone, including the Lake Wawasee chemical spill this July. A second spill on Lake Wawasee was also reported on Aug. 4 near the intersection of Bowser Road and Harkless Drive. The cause of the spill was likely cooking oil entering the channel through a storm drain.
Of the spills reported in 2015, three occurred on Winona Lake and two on Lake Wawasee.
“The number of chemical spills in our lakes so far this year demonstrate that we need to focus not only on ongoing threats to our lakes such as nutrients growing weeds and algae but also on immediate concerns like these spills,” center Director Dr. Nate Bosch said in the release.
(Story By The Times Union)
