Highlands residents see lower water pressure after Nippon chemical spill
Dorinda Taylor noticed lower water pressure at her Highlands home just before 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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Then she saw water flowing in the gutters.
"It made me think there's a break in the line or something," she said Thursday outside her home.
Unsure what to do, the 70-year-old said she called 911. Then she called the city water department, but no one answered.
Around 11 a.m. Thursday, signs posted on telephone poles around her home in the 200 block of Baltimore Street advised people not to go nearby drainage ditches, after hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemicals spilled at the nearby Nippon pulp and paper mill on Industrial Way on Tuesday.
But Taylor hadn't seen the signs, and wasn't aware of the issue.
A "Keep out of the water sign" in the Highlands
A warning sign advising the public to stay out of the water posted on the 3000 block of Adler Street in the Highland neighborhood of Longview on Thursday, May 28. The sign was posted as a response to the chemical spill at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co.
Diluting, flushing contaminated water
A joint press release from Longview Fire, Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington state Department of Ecology issued at 7:48 p.m. Wednesday explained the temporary dip in water pressure and flooding gutters.
Crews are flushing contaminated water through nearby ditches to draw it away from residential areas and the city's water supply, the press release states.
Consolidated Diking Improvement District No. 1 is also adding water from the Cowlitz River and Highlands fire hydrants into the ditches to dilute the chemicals. Longview Fire reports Cowlitz River water is going into Ditch 3, which is located behind Nippon.
The Reynolds Pump Station has been activated to pump out the tainted water into the Columbia. When the spill first occurred, nearby pumping stations were shut off to prevent contaminating the river.
However, some chemicals already reached the river during the early moments of the tank failure at around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday.
If pH levels become too high during the diluting and pumping process, operations will stop, the notice states.
When the tank containing white liquor failed on Tuesday, a water main for fire suppression also ruptured at the scene, mixing 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 the diking system that discharges into the Columbia River.
Longview, Rainier water is safe
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 the Wednesday evening joint press release.
The city of Longview reiterated Thursday afternoon that its water supply is safe.
The city of Rainier also issued a Thursday press release stating officials are working with the Oregon Health Authority to constantly monitor the city's drinking water, which is also safe.
Groundwater in Longview 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.
The latest Longview notice states the city's aquifers are safe because they are 200 feet below the ground.
Plus, the city's water treatment plant monitors the water 24 hours a day. If contaminated water ever entered the system, it would automatically shut off, the notice states.
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Diluting the chemicals may cause a smell, according to the press release, but it is not toxic.
Taylor had not noticed a smell or a difference in water color. Neither had neighbor Jovonnie Jarquin, 20, who was walking his dog along the Highlands Trail around 10 a.m. Thursday.
A representative from Safeway confirmed that neither the Longview nor Kelso locations had seen a spike in bottled water sales around the same time.
A Walmart representative also assured the Longview locations are working to keep essentials like bottled water stocked.
Longview spokesperson Angela Abel said residents should call the main city line at 360-442-5000 if they have questions about their water and the right contact will return their calls.
"The drinking water being delivered to homes and businesses today is the same safe water our community had last week," Longview Public Works Director Chris Collins said in a statement.
Editor's note: The Daily News Local News Editor Hayley Day contributed to this story.
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