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HURRICANE, Utah (AP) -- An unknown chemical killed organisms used to treat sewage in the Ash Creek Special Service District sewer lagoons.
District workers determined the chemical had been dumped into the sewage system through a manhole in La Verkin.
"Basically, something killed the pond," said Darwin Hall, superintendent of the sewer district. "We found out on Tuesday and had to turn off all the water (flowing in) and add irrigation water and turn on all the aerators."
Hall said the incident has cost the district several thousand dollars in the short term and it could be a major problem in the long term.
"When you go to shut down the ponds, if there are heavy metals in the sludge, then you are looking at a Superfund cleanup," Hall said.
Kim Spendlove, the district farm manager who also oversees the ponds, added algae- and organism-bearing water from another pond to get ponds 1 and 2 going again.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
