EL DORADO -- El Dorado and Union County officials are working to determine the identity and source of a liquid that turned the water green and reportedly killed some fish Tuesday in a creek and ditches that run north along Mosby Avenue.
The mysterious green substance was reported Tuesday morning to El Dorado Water Utilities, and employees spent much of the day trying to find the liquid's source and contain it, said Mark Smith, general manager of the utility.
Smith said the green liquid ran along the railroad tracks at East Main Street and Mosby Avenue and flowed north in a creek toward the Union County Fairgrounds.
City and county crews worked into the night to dam the creek to contain the contamination.
Smith said utility workers had collected samples of the substance and sent them for testing. He also said he had contacted the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality about the leak.
Smith and resident Thomas Huffman said dead fish were floating along certain points in the creek. Union County Judge Mike Loftin said he did not see any dead fish but had spotted tadpoles swimming around in the creek.
Huffman, who called the utility about the leak Tuesday morning, said he noticed the green substance bubbling up in the creek near his property and dead fish floating on the water's surface soon afterward, adding that his son often goes fishing in the creek.
He expressed concern about allowing his children and pets near the creek and about drinking the tap water at his residence. He said he had purchased bottled water for his family to drink.
Smith said there were no signs of the substance in the city's water system, and there had been no problems with the safety of the city's drinking water.
"I don't know how it could make it into our water system," Smith said.
State Desk on 07/24/2014