Source of gasoline leak in Seymour still under investigation nearly 3 years after it was discovered

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Crews with the Department of Natural Resources continues to investigate gasoline leak in Seymour first detected in 2019.

“It’s scary,” said Dawn Dotson.

She says crews have been poking around near her house on Frances St. since she’s moved in more than 2 years ago.

“I don’t know what’s coming out of there and where its going,” she said.

Emergency responders with the Department of Natural Resources discovered that petroleum was leaking into the sewer system.

“Back in 2019 there were some of the residences that were having issues. That’s really what triggered it. People were complaining about gasoline odors in their houses and in the sewer system,” said Environmental Engineer Ken Hannon.

He says crews were trying to find where the leak was coming from during their initial investigation but fell short.

“Now we’re moving onto the next phase where we’re actually exposing the sewer line to see if we can find any stained soil or contamination,” he said.

If polluted soil is found a larger sample will be sent to a lab for more testing.

“We’re finding vapors in the sewer. That makes it a little bit tricky because they’re harder to find. You’re not seeing something leaking into a system,” said Hannon.

A ventilation system has been set up to blow fumes out of the sewer system.

Hannon says a gas station a block away from the dig site has been cleared and that crews are trying to determine if the gas station on Frances St. could be the cause.

“It’s a little bit more complicated. It wasn’t straight forward. We’re hoping that this trenching will help us trace the source,” he said.

Dotson says she hopes the area is cleaned up soon.

“I have a compromised immune system. I’m a diabetic. I’m also on dialysis 3 times a week. So, yeah, any out of the ordinary stuff scares me,” she said.

Crews will be digging up Frances St between Clinton and Garfield one section at a time until the end of June.

A final report on the investigation could take several months.

Investigators say there is no threat to the community.

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