Press release
from N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
DENR releases initial water test results from Duke Energy coal ash spill
RALEIGH – Initial water quality testing performed on site at Duke Energy’s Dan River power plant today by staff from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources showed no deviation from normal levels of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and conductivity due to the release of water and ash from the facility’s coal ash impoundment.
DENR Secretary John Skvarla joined DENR staff already in Eden today to inspect the site. Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, independent experts and Duke Energy officials are coordinating to control the spill in Rockingham County.
Water samples were hand delivered to a lab in Raleigh for further testing for heavy metals, sulfates, nutrients, and total suspended solids. Some of these results should be available Wednesday, while others will be available Thursday.
“Our primary concern is the safety of the public,” Skvarla said Tuesday. “Those who get their drinking water from private or community wells will be unaffected by this event. In addition, water from the river that has been treated by nearby municipal treatment facilities is safe to drink.”
DENR staff will continue to monitor the site and provide assistance to the utility.
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