(*UPDATED at 6:45-p.m. w/a statement from Tyson Foods) STORM LAKE—Early this (Wednesday) morning, wastewater flowed into the city of Storm Lake’s storm sewers for less than an hour. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said the incident originated at Tyson Foods, 1009 Richland Drive, wastewater began flowing into a storm sewer about 2:25 a.m. The discharge ended about half an hour later at 2:58 a.m. The likely cause was a pump failure in the plant at 1009 Richland Drive.

The storm sewer empties into a storm water detention basin about a block north of Storm Lake, where Tyson staff began pumping it up. Of the estimated 16,500 gallons released, some of it reached the lake. Tyson staff are working to estimate how much. Tyson and the city of Storm Lake collected water samples for testing. DNR staff indicated they do not expect environmental issues given the small amount that reached the lake.

DNR will monitor the cleanup and consider appropriate enforcement actions. Wednesday evening, Kelly Hellbusch, with Tyson Corporate Communications issued a statement to KJAN, saying “We took immediate action to contain the accidental release of water from the plant and are working cooperatively with city and state officials as we continue to implement our containment and cleanup measures and further evaluate the matter.”