Chemical Leak At Water Works Plant Could Be Cause Of Dying Trees

BIRMINGHAM, AL - A chemical leak at the Birmingham Water Works Shades Mountain Filter Plant on US 280 that sent more than 50 people to the hospital Feb. 27 may have affected several trees surrounding the plant. Complaints from neighbors who have seen their pine trees turn brown has the BWWB investigating the matter.

"An accidental mix of sodium hypochlorite (which is essentially bleach) and ferric sulfate caused a chlorine off gas at our Shades Mountain Filter Plant," the BWWB said at the time of the leak. "We use these components to treat water as our normal practice, however they are not meant to be mixed together."

Water Works employees and people nearby who breathed in the gas were treated at local hospitals, but no serious injuries were reported.

The Birmingham Fire Department reported that hazmat entry teams closed the valves involved in the contamination, and officials determined that the issue had been resolved without further incident. However, since the leak, a large number of pine trees around the plant have shown signs of discoloration, including in a residential neighborhood and nearby church in Mountain Brook. Initially the BWWB denied any responsibility for the problems with the trees. The BWWB has since backtracked on that denial and said they are investigating the matter.

“A concern of our customers is a concern of ours,” BWW Interim General Manager Michael Johnson said in a news release. “We want to continue being good stewards of the community. So, we’re taking every step to bring attention and rectification to this situation as we possibly can.”

Reports from residents of Cherokee Road behind the plant have said the neighborhood is coming together to demand action, as trees on their properties appear to be dying, which would require costly removal or unsafe conditions.