Iowa DNR Dredging: Storm Lake Oil Spill Contained

An incident stemming from a dredging operation resulted in about two gallons of oil getting into Storm Lake two days ago.

Dredge crews, the City of Storm Lake and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources were able to contain and clean up the oil spill on Sunday afternoon.

The contract operator of the dredging operation, Dredge America, was pumping water out of the bilge of the work boat when the operator left to do something else.

The pump continued and removed all the water then pumped out an estimated two gallons of oil that was on top of the bilge water into the lake creating a sheen of about 100 by 100 feet on the lake surface.

Dredge America operators immediately shut off the pump and started putting absorbent pads on the oil that got into the lake.

The City of Storm Lake, with assistance from the DNR Lake Patrol, were able to contain the oil on the lake with booms until it could be picked up with absorbent pads.

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