TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — We now know more about last week’s accidental wastewater discharge event that caused damage to Terre Haute’s wastewater treatment process.
A release from Debbie Padgett, the City of Terre Haute Wastewater Utility Director, revealed that the discharge came from the Hydrite Chemical Co. location on Erie Canal Road. The discharge, which consisted of a large amount of ammonia, reportedly caused damage to the natural biological treatment process that makes wastewater clean.
Padgett thanked Hydrite Chemical for their continued efforts to mitigate and correct issues at the facility related to the incident.
Hydrite Chemical Co. released the following statement;
This past week, Hydrite Chemical Co. located at 2400 Erie Canal Road became aware of an accidental sewer discharge to the city of Terre Haute’s Wastewater Utility plant. We immediately notified the city and shut down our operations to ensure that no further discharge would occur. Hydtrite has partnered with the city, which has confirmed that there is no threat to public health or the environment. We are fully committed to resolving this issue. Hydrite has also implemented additional safety protocols, monitoring, and employee training to prevent future accidental discharges, and is dedicated to ensuring the safety of our employees and the city of Terre Haute which we are fortunate to call home.
Hydrite Chemical Co. statement
Padgett continues to assure residents that there is no danger to the public related to this incident. Noting that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has inspected the wastewater plant and the treated discharge into the Wabash River and has fully approved the current process to restore normal operations.
The wastewater has been held in seven isolated tanks at the treatment plant. Padgett said waste from surrounding community wastewater systems has been hauled in to “rebuild the bugs required to activate the waste disposal process.”
Hydrite has reportedly agreed to contract with a waste disposal company to haul the ammonia-impacted water from the isolated tanks to an authorized facility for proper disposal.
