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SOUTH SALT LAKE — Crews from several local and state agencies worked Friday to find the source of an apparent oil spill in adjoining Millcreek and South Salt Lake neighborhoods.
A passer-by reported noticing a sheen on the water in the area of 3300 South and 700 East about 7:30 a.m. Unified Fire Authority spokesman Rob Morley said although the substance was still being tested, it is believed to be oil-based.
"We think it has something to do with petroleum," he said.
Morley said that area of the creek has three inlets feeding into it, one from Mill Creek and two storm drains. The chemical was believed to be coming from one of the storm drains, he said.
The source of the chemical — whether it is leaking from somewhere or was dumped into the drain — was still under investigation Friday. At one point, a robotic camera on wheels was put into the water to go up the drain pipe for a better look.
Booms were placed along the creek from 700 East to State Street.
"The biggest concern would be that we just don't know what it is," emergency response coordinator Kevin Okleberry said. "And so we don't know if it's going to get worse, if it's going to go away on its own. We need to find the source and make sure it's not anything big."
Morley said the spill was not believed to be a threat to businesses, residents or wildlife.
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality took water samples, and crews pulled manhole covers to isolate a source area within a couple hundred yards.
Investigators said the spill could be a substance percolating from the soil, running off from a parking lot, leaking from an underground tank or an illegal discharge. Test results should be available early next week.
In 2010, two crude oil pipeline fails above Red Butte Garden resulted in an estimated 800 barrels of oil escaping. The first leak led to the closure of the pond at Liberty Park, shut down a stretch of the Jordan River and resulted in the displacement of multiple residents in upper east bench neighborhoods.
Contributing: Jed Boal and Andrew Adams
