Crews dilute, flush tainted water from Nippon spill into Columbia
Officials are aiming to dilute the contaminated water in the ditches near the Nippon Dynawave pulp and paper mill to safely release into the Columbia River after the Tuesday fatal chemical spill along the major waterway.
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The longer the chemicals stay in the ditches along Industrial Way, the more likely they are to seep into the aquifer that supplies Longview's drinking water, according to a joint press release from Longview Fire, Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington state Department of Ecology.
The current water supply is safe, the Wendesay evening notice states.
The chemicals that spilled Tuesday are known as white liquor, a mixture of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and sodium carbonate and used to turn wood into pulp.
The liquid remains onsite as crews and state agencies clean it up. A water main for fire suppression also ruptured at the scene Tuesday and mixed with the roughly 500,000 gallons of the spilled chemicals, said Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein earlier this week.
The mill's storm drain system connects to a diking system that discharges into the Columbia River.
Crews are flushing the tainted water through nearby ditches to draw it away from residential areas and the city's water supply, the latest press release states.
Groundwater is tapped from wells in the Mint Farm industrial park, also along Industrial Way, and supplied to the city of Longview and Beacon Hill, Water and Sewer District, according to the city's website.
Consolidated Diking Improvement District No. 1 is also adding water from the Cowlitz River and Highlands fire hydrants into the nearby ditches to dilute the chemicals.
The Reynolds Pump Station, which flows into the Columbia, has been activated.
Previously, pump stations were shut down after the spill to prevent contamination of the river.
The Reynolds Pump Station
The Reynolds Pump Station
If pH levels become too high, pumping at the station and the diluting process will stop, and no more of the tainted water will be released into the river.
Some chemicals already reached the river during the early moments of the tank failure at around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday.
Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson said at a Wednesday press conference that a dozen carp had died in nearby waterways due to the contamination.
Goldstein said pH levels had risen in those waterways. That is why he asked the public to keep avoiding affected dikes and ditches in the area between Washington Way and Prudential Boulevard, the latter of which is near the Mint Farm industrial park.
Signs were installed in those areas to warn the public.
The EPA and state Department of Ecology are overseeing dilution and flushing operations.
Consolidated Diking Improvement District No. 1comprises 19 miles of levee, over 35 miles of sloughs, ditches and drains for stormwater collection and routing, as well as seven pump stations for the removal and discharge of stormwater outside the levee system, according to its website.
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