A potentially explosive situation was thwarted under the streets of Springfield.
Crews with the city's Water and Wastewater Department were inspecting manholes and the sewer line after the recent wet weather, which was normal procedure.
"During his investigation he detected an odor of gasoline," Director Roger Lemasters said.
After dropping a gas monitor into a number of manholes crews learned they had a problem.
"We have a sewer use ordinance that says nobody can discharge anything into the sewer that has a lower explosive limit, LEL in excess of 5 percent. If you get 100 percent of the LEL then its an explosive atmosphere," Lemasters explained. "There were several places where the lower explosive limit was at 100 percent."
Somehow petroleum had gotten into the sewer lines meaning all it would have taken was a single spark.
"You could have an explosion," Springfield Fire Chief Jimmy Hamill said.
Thankfully, that didn't happen; however, "we've had this situation come up before," Hamill said.
The area affected by the petroleum surrounds an oil company. The first time it happened was two years ago in the same area.
"We don't have 100 percent assurance that it was, but the evidence points that direction," said Lemasters.
It may be awhile before the city knows for sure where the petroleum came from and how it got there.
"Once we do that then we'll determine whether or not it warrants some sort of enforcement action," Lemasters said.
