An oil spill into the Yellowstone River from a pipeline leak forced towns in Montana and North Dakota to close their water intakes and truck in fresh water for their residents.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality notified officials in Sidney, Montana, and Williston, North Dakota, that water in the river is being tested for contamination because of the spill,
reported the Grand Forks Herald.
An oil pipline owned by Bridger Pipeline began leaking Saturday near where it crosses the Yellowstone River, according to the newspaper. The leak happened about nine miles south from Glendive, a town of about 5,000 along Interstate 94 in eastern Montana.
Montana environmental officials said they believe up to 1,200 barrels of crude oil, or approximately 50,000 gallons, have leaked from Bridger's Poplar Pipeline since Saturday.
"Results from the first water sample taken from the Glendive Municipal Water Treatment Plant has come back and the sample showed an elevated level of volatile organic compounds, predominantly benzene,"
read a statement from Montana's environmental quality department on Tuesday.
"The presence of benzene would account for reports of adverse odor in the local water supply. This test result confirms findings from field samples taken Monday at several locations in the city. While the elevated levels are above the level for long-term consumption, the scientists who reviewed the data at the Centers for Disease Control have told the Unified Command that they 'do not see that domestic use of this water poses a short term public health hazard,'" the statement said.
"This is a significant spill, and the coordination of various response activities at the spill site, the city of Glendive, and downstream locations will be a priority over the next several days," the Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement.
The newspaper reported Monday that 20 to 30 residents reported a smell or taste to their drinking water in the affected areas.
"We don't know 100 percent yet that there's contamination on the system but we are going to put out warnings to the residents of Glendive that they probably shouldn't be drinking the water until we get definite results back," Mayor Jerry Jimison told the Herald.
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