By Taylor Boyd
Blue dye entered the Town of Stuart’s wastewater treatment plant last month after a reported discharge from Faith Mulch into the town’s sanitary sewer system, according to a report submitted to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
In an email to DEQ, Stuart Town Manager Bryce Simmons said wastewater treatment plant staff observed strongly colored blue influent arriving at the plant Aug. 12.
“The source of the color has been reported to the Town as a discharge made by Faith Mulch to the Town’s sanitary sewer collection system. The color carried through the treatment train and was visible in the final effluent at the Parshall flume on August 13, which was the peak of the event,” Simmons stated in an emailed report.
Simmons said the colored influent diminished markedly Aug. 14, and a sample collected Aug. 15 was colorless. As of Aug. 18, no blue or blue-green color remained in the effluent.
“Throughout the event the plant continued to operate through its normal treatment train. The clarifiers settled normally, the weirs remained clean, and no solids carryover was observed. The color observed was dissolved rather than solids-associated, which is consistent with a soluble dye and is not removed by settling,” Simmons stated in the report.
In an Aug. 18 email to DEQ, Simmons said the town was unable to determine or estimate the volume of dye-bearing material discharged.
“No adverse effects on aquatic life were observed and no fish kill was reported. The known number of fish killed is zero,” he stated in the email.
Simmons said he made Faith Mulch aware of the color showing up at the sewer plant and planned to meet with a company representative during the week.
“He did tell me they have switched to a food-grade dye and will provide me the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) sheets for reference,” Simmons said.
He is unsure of the type of dye the company used before the switch.
“I don’t know if it was a recommendation or whatever, but I guess after the last time they have switched over to two different dyes. They had a green dye and now they are mixing a blue and a yellow dye to make the green,” he said, adding the new food grade dye should be safer.
After concerns about the dye’s toxicity following a July accidental spill, Simmons said the company decided to switch.
“I think it was the dye that had gotten directly into the river. There were concerns about its potential toxicity, which is why they switched over. I assumed that it was nontoxic but I know they have made this switch to essentially make sure that if any dye does get into either the river or the sanitary sewer, it is completely non-toxic,” he said.
Simmons said he believes the town is in full compliance at this time.
“I do intend on talking to the owners of Faith Mulch on ways that we can hopefully resolve this issue,” he said.
The company was previously issued a corrective action plan by DEQ following an accidental dye spill into Campbell Branch, a tributary of the Mayo River, in July.
Faith Mulch did not respond to requests for comment.
