LITTLE ROCK — More than 20 barrels labeled with a chemical used in drilling operations have been removed from Choctaw Creek in Clinton since, officials said Friday.
Cecillea Pond-Mayo, a spokesman with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, said the last of the barrels was removed around noon Friday. Some of them were sealed and others were not.
"But then again, the unknown factor is were (the barrels) empty when they got in the water," Pond-Mayo said. "Our role right now is just to gather as much information as possible."
The barrels did not indicate who owned them, Pond-Mayo said. She said it wasn't clear if that information had been removed or if it simply wasn't ever noted on them.
Officials are reportedly working to locate the manufacturer who marketed the barrels to better identify where they came from and what precisely they contained, Pond-Mayo said.
Samples of water have also been collected from the creek and tests will be conducted to see if the water shows signs of the fluids.
Clinton Mayor Roger Rorie says the chemical, which is used in the fracking process during natural gas drilling, was found in the creek after testing at the water treatment facility a couple of weeks ago.
"We're fighting an unknown up here and if we find the source of the problem we can't get anything done about it!" said the mayor, in frustration.
The water from Choctaw Creek feeds into the water treatment facility, and a staging area has been set up where the Choctaw Bridge crosses Highway 65.