Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) is closely monitoring the water quality of the Ohio River after trace amounts of two industrial chemicals leaked into the river due to a train derailment in northeast Ohio.

The spill happened after a train derailed on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border. Some of the train cars were carrying chemicals and low levels of butyl acrylate reached the Ohio River through a small creek. The chemical is used to produce plastics and resins.

The spill happened nearly 300 miles from Cincinnati, but GCWW is part of a network of water utilities that constantly monitor the Ohio River and its tributaries. That means we knew about the spill soon after it happened and our scientists quickly got to work, looking at how we’d detect the chemical and how we’d handle it in our treatment process.

During the past few days, our scientists have looked at the size and location of the spill and calculated the travel time of the spill’s plume to reach Cincinnati. This is an advantage of the Ohio River, as its large size helps with diluting a spill, making it easier to treat.

GCWW is also looking at how we treat the spill if the plume reaches Cincinnati. We know that trace amounts of this chemical can cause minor odors to the water, but through conventional treatment and the use of powdered activated carbon, we can ensure a supply of safe and healthy water remains available to our customers.

GCWW is a member of the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) and state and federal regulatory partners. ORSANCO has a detection system located along the entire 981 miles of the Ohio River where utilities use sophisticated equipment to analyze for chemicals that may spill into the river.

We will continue to monitor and update our response strategy as we learn more.

For more information, click here to access the USEPA’s website.