City continues efforts to recoup water cleanup cost
City officials are continuing to take legal steps to recoup $20,000 in costs associated with the cleanup of an environmental spill into the city’s storm-water system four years ago.
The incident occurred July 21, 2014, when an employee of East Main Enterprises, Inc., poured car-wash soap concentrate down a floor-drain of a former self-serve, coin-operated car wash in the 1200 block of East Main, just east of Rock Island Right of Way.
The car wash, which had shut down at the time, has since been razed.
The soap, which contained bio-degradable concentrated chemicals, seeped into a storm water drain, which empties into a nearby creek that flows north along Mosby.
The substance rushed into the creek, turning the water a vibrant green that flowed toward the Union County Fairgrounds and killed scores of fish along the way.
The city and Union County joined together to contain the leak and identify its source.
Crews worked through the night to dam the creek, just off Mosby near Trinity Street.
The following day, they built a second dam at Champagnolle Road to get ahead of a storm that rumbled through the area that night and to prevent the water from traveling farther north.
Crews remained at the Champagnolle dam site all night to make sure the rainwater and green contaminant did not spill over the dam and spread farther down the creek.
Also involved in the mitigation effort were several state agencies, including the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, which collected dead fish from the creek.
AGFC officials said the soap concentrate stifled the oxygen supply in the water. Many fish died, while other fish and tadpoles were unaffected, officials said.
The El Dorado Water Utilities, who coordinated the cleanup of the spill, collected samples of the water and sent them off for testing, ultimately identifying the contaminant.
EWU and city officials said the substance did not infiltrate the city’s potable water system, helping to alleviate concerns of residents who lived near the creek.
Over the course of several days, the EWU used vacuum trucks to pump 155,000 gallons of water out of the creek, dividing the water between its two wastewater treatment plants.
Much of the water was pumped into a wastewater
main near the Trinity dam and was sent to the EWU’s north WWTP. Seventy-five thousand gallons were hauled to the south WWTP.
The water utility company also installed a new wastewater line at East Main Pawn Shop, which has since expanded onto the site of the former car wash, because the old line emptied into the same storm drain.
The shop and former car wash are/were part of East Main Enterprises, Inc.
After cleanup efforts were completed, Mayor Frank Hash said the city would bill James Halsey, president of East Main Enterprises, for the work.
City Attorney Henry Kinslow said Wednesday that the final price tag for
the city came in at more than $20,000.
In 2015, the city filed suit against Halsey to recover the cleanup costs and the case has been ongoing since.
Last week, Kinslow asked the El Dorado City Council to pass a resolution continue pursuing legal action regarding the matter.
“There’s a (court) hearing soon, and I needed a resolution from the council in case this goes to trial. It has taken forever to go to court,” Kinslow said.
He said a hearing is set next month in 13th Judicial District Court, Division 6, over which Judge David Guthrie presides.