Crews in Walnut Creek are investigating a cracked pipeline near the Iron Horse Trail that resulted in a massive gasoline leak into a local water channel.
Cleanup crews are at the end of Bradley Ave. in Walnut Creek to remediate the spill. The pipeline transports gas, jet fuel and diesel.
Kinder Morgan operates the pipe in question. Spokesman Andrew Holbrook told KCBS Radio they first noticed a pressure drop on November 20 near South Broadway, prompting officials to shut down certain parts of the pipeline that runs from Concord to San Jose.
Then, December 2, they were alerted of a gasoline smell in the water.
"There was a worker working for the (Contra Costa County) Flood Control District that was doing a routine inspection and it did have an odor of gases," he said. "They were down in this area and that’s when they called us."
Crews watch over cleanup of a massive gasoline spill near the Iron Horse Trail in Walnut Creek.Carrie Hodousek/KCBS Radio
He said up to 40,000 gallons of gasoline ended up tin the water, but no wildlife appeared to have been harmed.
"The only threat is the product that’s actually in the drainage canal," said Eric Laughlin, Public Information Officer at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "At this point, we’ve been monitoring it and we haven’t seen any wildlife in that area so they haven’t been impacted."
Bill Caram, Executive Director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a watchdog group out of Bellingham, Washington, told the San Francisco Chronicle it was "a sizeable spill."
It’s thought that tree roots put pressure on the pipeline, causing it to crack.
There’s no official timeline for full remediation.
The spill reportedly happened on the same pipeline and in the same area as a deadly 2004 explosion that killed five construction workers.
