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Ethanol from train derailment spurs water assessment

Derailed train cars in Jack creek, northwest of Des Moines.
Twenty tanker cars containing ethanol were derailed from a trestle bridge that spanned the Jack Creek in northwestern Iowa on Friday, March 10. Some of the cars caught fire and burned for two days.
March 31, 2017 -- About 1,600 gallons of ethanol leaked into Jack Creek on March 13 as derailed tanker cars were being pulled from the creek south of Graettinger, about 160 miles northwest of Des Moines.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported that five tanker cars fell into the creek. As they were being pulled from the creek, one car leaked about 1,500 gallons of ethanol into the water and another leaked approximately 100 gallons.

The State Hygienic Laboratory tested water samples for levels of ethanol and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) as part of the Iowa DNR water quality assessment.

Matt Mainprize, environmental lab analyst, prepares a water sample from Jack Creek to test for ethanol.

Adequate BOD levels are needed to support aerobic biological organisms in surface water. As ethanol decomposes in the water, it can cause oxygen levels to dip.

“Levels of 5 parts per million of oxygen or less could affect fish,” said Amber Wolf, DNR environmental specialist. “We saw no evidence of that.”

Water monitoring showed normal dissolved oxygen levels of between 11 and 12 parts per million at three locations downstream of the accident site Monday afternoon, Wolf said.

“This is consistent with what we’ve seen since the accident occurred on Friday. The flow is extremely high in the creek and where Jack Creek flows into the Des Moines River about four miles downstream.”

Wolf said the DNR “will continue to monitor cleanup efforts and will consider appropriate enforcement action.”