Aluminum spill in Coxsackie kills fish
COXSACKIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An aluminum spill at Catskill's water treatment plant on Sunday that flowed into Potic Creek resulted in the death of several fish, according to an ongoing investigation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Crews are working to stop the flow of aluminum salts that leaked from a broken pipe, DEC says. Roughly 1,500 gallons of alum escaped from the facility. Potic Creek, a 10-mile long tributary of Catskill Creek, is not a public drinking water supply and residents in the area may see dead fish in the proximity of the plant.
"There's hundreds of dead fish along the creek to the plant," said James Gallagher, who lives in Earlton, a hamlet in Greene County. "The creek is covered in huge bubbles of grey foam."
Emergency Spill Response personnel and Coxsackie staff are working to collect the dead fish, DEC said. The clean-up will continue until the environment is protected.