The City of Salem says its drinking water continues to be safe after a truck crash on Sunday resulted in fuel spilling into the North Santiam River.
The river supplies Salem and several smaller towns with drinking water. Harry Esteve of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said initial testing shows very little of the spilled gasoline has made its way downstream.
“The further down you go, if you get down to four to six miles, it’s almost undetectable," he said. "So that’s good news for drinking water. There’s no concerns now at this point about the quality of water that people are drinking, either in Salem or the other communities.”
Esteve says crews have hauled away tons of contaminated soil to a landfill in Corvallis. The Oregon Department of Transportation estimates a 28-mile stretch Highway 22 will remain closed from Idanha to Santiam Junction through at least Friday.
