What at first appeared to be a hazardous substance flowing into a south Forsyth creek turned out to be drink mix.
About 8 p.m. Thursday, residents of Streamview Way off Fowler Road reported that a creek behind their home was running “blood red,” said Forsyth County Fire Capt. Jason Shivers.
Shivers said hazardous materials technicians with the fire department traced the substance back to Mayson Foods on Alpha Drive.
He said they determined a vat of spoiled strawberry margarita mix, kept in the food processing company’s warehouse, had been poured through a grate in the floor into a storm drainage system.
The system, in turn, led to the stream and ultimately Big Creek.
“There was an illegal discharge of a manmade product into state waters, so it most definitely fell into the realm of a true hazardous materials incident,” he said. “Fortunately, dilution is the best form of remediation for that food grade product.”
Shivers said fire personnel used a nearby hydrant to flush the water and dilute the substance. The Alpharetta hazardous materials unit assisted.
“Downstream communities, specifically Alpharetta and Roswell, were warned of this contamination so they could monitor it as necessary,” Shivers said.
“Once we determined it did not serve a threat to humans we felt the situation was reasonable to handle with dilution.”
He said the Georgia Environmental Protection Division was notified Thursday night about the contamination and will further investigate the incident.
Officials with Mayson Foods could not be reached for comment Friday night.
E-mail Julie Arrington at juliearrington@forsythnews.com.
About 8 p.m. Thursday, residents of Streamview Way off Fowler Road reported that a creek behind their home was running “blood red,” said Forsyth County Fire Capt. Jason Shivers.
Shivers said hazardous materials technicians with the fire department traced the substance back to Mayson Foods on Alpha Drive.
He said they determined a vat of spoiled strawberry margarita mix, kept in the food processing company’s warehouse, had been poured through a grate in the floor into a storm drainage system.
The system, in turn, led to the stream and ultimately Big Creek.
“There was an illegal discharge of a manmade product into state waters, so it most definitely fell into the realm of a true hazardous materials incident,” he said. “Fortunately, dilution is the best form of remediation for that food grade product.”
Shivers said fire personnel used a nearby hydrant to flush the water and dilute the substance. The Alpharetta hazardous materials unit assisted.
“Downstream communities, specifically Alpharetta and Roswell, were warned of this contamination so they could monitor it as necessary,” Shivers said.
“Once we determined it did not serve a threat to humans we felt the situation was reasonable to handle with dilution.”
He said the Georgia Environmental Protection Division was notified Thursday night about the contamination and will further investigate the incident.
Officials with Mayson Foods could not be reached for comment Friday night.
E-mail Julie Arrington at juliearrington@forsythnews.com.