KANSAS CITY, Mo.— The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers experienced an overflow of the groundwater treatment system at the Former Nebraska Ordnance Plant Site on Saturday, Sept. 1, and lasted less than 24 hours at the main treatment plant located at 905 County Road 6, in Ashland, Neb.
Levels of contamination in the groundwater were low, so there is no indication of health or environmental concerns from this incident.
The overflow was caused by a malfunction in the equipment used to measure tank water levels. The water flowed out of the treatment plant and into a drainage ditch that runs west along County Road F.
The water then flowed to a metal culvert which transfers the water under County Road F and ponded in a field on the south side of the road. No additional areas, streams, lakes, or tributaries were affected, and the water quickly soaked into the dry ground.
The Corps of Engineers contacted the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to report this incident.
As a precaution, the Corps will collect verification samples and continue to monitor groundwater conditions. The main treatment plant has been taken off-line until the equipment is replaced, which is anticipated to take place early next week. In addition, a redundant monitoring system is being installed to ensure this type of issue does not occur in the future.
For additional information, please contact the Public Affairs Office at (816) 389-3486 or (816) 863-4102.
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Release no. PA-2012-57