By Emma Stanton, Staff Writer
Last week, a white substance was spotted in the Kedron Brook in Woodstock Village. According to Woodstock officials, the Woodstock Fire Station, under the authority of Chief David Green, was quick to respond to the scene last Tuesday, Sept. 9, to ensure that any contamination in the brook was contained.
In a call with the Standard, Green expressed relief that the situation was handled swiftly and with no damage to the surrounding wildlife. “We were notified right away after the spill occurred,” he said. “Someone walking past the brook saw the discoloration of the stream and called it in.”
The Vermont Office of Emergency Management, the Agency of Natural Resources, river management engineer Todd Menees of the State of Vermont, and the Vermont Hazardous Materials department were all immediately notified, Green said. Working together, a containment and cleanup plan was developed and executed.
After a brief investigation, Green said he and his staff concluded that the contamination was a result of an accidental release of paint into the brook by an employee of the Town of Woodstock. “A new employee was not aware that we do not dump contaminants down any storm drain in town, and was also unaware that the storm drain went directly to the Kedron Brook. As a result, a small amount of water-based white paint was accidentally dumped into the brook.” This employee had reportedly been cleaning a crosswalk paint sprayer when runoff entered the storm drain, temporarily creating a white discoloration in the water.
“We have retrained this employee and plan to retrain all town employees on this policy, to ensure that contamination does not happen again in the future,” added Green.
Due to rapid dilution in the brook, the paint could not be captured or removed from the brook. “On the morning of Sept. 10, representatives from the Woodstock Fire Department and Todd Menees from ANR returned to the site. The water appeared clean, and fish were observed swimming in the area, indicating no lasting impact,” Green said. “I walked past the stream just the other day, and the Kedron Brook was full of swimming fish with no apparent damage done to the ecosystem.”
According to Green, following a test of the water, the river management engineer for the state of Vermont assured the Woodstock Fire Department that there is no long-term damage to the brook or the environment.
