Crews contain unidentified substance found in water at Broughton Springs

SOUTHSIDE, Ala. Etowah County emergency crews contained an unidentified substance found in the water at Broughton Springs after a resident reported it Monday afternoon. The substance stayed in a small area, and officials reported no observed harm to native species.

This was surface water at Broughton Springs. It was not the city drinking water supply, and no advisory was issued for tap water.

What did crews find?

A resident spotted an unknown substance in the water and reported it. The Etowah County Emergency Management Agency responded Monday afternoon.

Crews put out oil-absorbing booms to keep the material from spreading. They also placed absorbent pads in the water to soak it up.

Has the substance been identified?

Not as of Friday, Aug. 7. The agency said it could not precisely identify the substance or confirm where it came from. No follow-up statement has been released since Monday.

GadsdenThrive has asked the agency for an update and will add it here when we get one.

Is the drinking water safe?

Nothing in the agency’s report involved the treated drinking water system. The response was to surface water at Broughton Springs, and no boil advisory or do-not-drink notice was issued for any Southside water customer.

Treated drinking water in Alabama is tested on a regular schedule, and utilities are required to notify customers when a problem affects the supply. No such notice went out here.

What do booms and absorbent pads actually do?

Oil-absorbing booms are floating barriers. They do two jobs at once. They corral material floating on the surface so it stops spreading downstream, and the material they are made of pulls in oil and similar substances while repelling water.

Absorbent pads work the same way without the barrier. Crews lay them on the surface, and they soak up what is floating there.

Both are left in place long enough to take up the material. Crews then remove the equipment and dispose of it properly, because at that point the booms and pads hold the contaminant.

This approach only works on substances that float and do not dissolve. That is a clue about what responders were dealing with, though the agency has not said what it was.

Why do substances go unidentified?

Naming a substance usually requires a laboratory sample, and results take time. Tracing where it came from is harder still, especially when a waterway has several possible upstream sources and no one reported a spill.

In many small releases, responders contain the material first and work on identification after, because containment cannot wait for a lab.

How big was the affected area?

The agency said the material stayed confined to a relatively small area. Officials also reported no observed harm to native species there.

Broughton Springs sits in the Coosa River drainage in southern Etowah County, which is part of why a small release gets attention. Water moving through that system reaches the river.

What should residents do if they see something like this?

Report it. The resident who called this one in is the reason crews got there Monday.

Signs worth reporting include an oily sheen on the surface, unusual discoloration, a chemical or fuel smell, foam that does not disperse, or dead fish.

Call the Etowah County Emergency Management Agency during business hours. For spills of oil or hazardous material at any hour, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency operates a 24-hour State Warning Point at 1-800-843-0699, which is also how the Alabama Department of Environmental Management is reached after hours. ADEM also takes complaints through an online submission form, and a name is not required to file one.

When reporting, note the time, the exact location, what you saw and smelled, and whether it was spreading. Photographs help. Do not touch or try to sample the material.

Frequently asked questions

Was Southside’s drinking water affected?
No. This was surface water at Broughton Springs, and no advisory was issued.

What was the substance?
Not identified as of Aug. 7.

Was any wildlife harmed?
The agency reported no observed harm to native species.

Who responded?
The Etowah County Emergency Management Agency, on Monday afternoon.

Who do I call if I see a spill?
Etowah County EMA during business hours, or the state’s 24-hour warning point at 1-800-843-0699.