Officials eye pool in Montco creek-dumping probe
State and local officials are investigating alleged illegal dumping into Tookany Creek, which might be related to a contractor's work at a municipal swimming pool in Glenside, Cheltenham Township officials said Tuesday.
State and local officials are investigating alleged illegal dumping into Tookany Creek, which might be related to a contractor's work at a municipal swimming pool in Glenside, Cheltenham Township officials said Tuesday.
Residents of the Montgomery County neighborhood reported a discharge in Tookany Creek near Renninger Park, Township Manager Bryan Havir said.
"We jumped right away into action," he said.
A contractor had been working at the Glenside pool to complete a water-blasting and painting project, Havir said. That project was suspended Monday night, and officials contacted the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
"The township is investigating how this unfortunate incident occurred," township officials said in a news release.
They said that no fish have died and that the stream bank and creek have been cleared of contamination.
Havir said the Department of Environmental Protection interviewed employees of the contractor, StoneRidge Inc., on Monday night. Township officials are also working to review contracts for the pool project as part of their own investigation, he said.
A message left with StoneRidge was not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.
An environmental remediation company, Lewis Environmental, came in Monday night to clean up the discharge and remove contaminants from the stream bank. That work was expected to be complete Tuesday afternoon, Havir said.
The discharge was discovered on the same day the actor Mark Ruffalo visited a different site at the creek in Cheltenham. Ruffalo, an advocate for water quality, tested the water with students and representatives from local environmental groups as part of a project to protect the Delaware River watershed.
The testing by students Monday - miles away from the Glenside pool - did not appear to be related to the discovery of the illicit discharge.
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