A sheen on the Mississippi River appeared on the water and was reported to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Tuesday, according to St. Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS).

A sheen can be bacterial or petroleum in nature, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. It’s currently unclear about the nature of this sheen.

“There is no immediate threat to the SPRWS drinking water supply at this time,” the SPRWS said in a statement. “SPRWS has the ability to use water from lakes and wells, which is what we are doing at this point. The water in the supply system being routed to the treatment plant is safe to use and has not affected the quality of the drinking water being provided to customers.”

Here’s what happened after the sheen was reported, according to the statement:

“Immediately upon notification, SPRWS shut down the intake pumping station at Fridley on the Mississippi River, preventing flow from reaching the chain of lakes within our surface water supply. The intake station remains off while SPRWS works closely with the Minnesota Department of Health and other state agencies to conduct additional water quality testing from the Mississippi River.”

Check for updates at stpaul.gov/departments/saint-paul-regional-water-services.

Sheens

“Each year the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) receives calls from concerned citizens who have discovered apparent color sheens on water in ditches, ponds, wetlands, lakes and other areas with stagnant, standing water,” the MPCA notes in a sheen handout.

“Often these sheens have an iridescent or rainbow‐like appearance similar to what one sees when a small amount of oil, gasoline or other petroleum product is spilled on water. In some cases, a reddish precipitate can be seen also in the water where these sheens occur. If there is no obvious source of petroleum that could have been spilled, the sheen may be an organic nonpetroleum, or humic, sheen caused by bacteria.”

This is a developing situation and will be updated.

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