NORFOLK, Va. — There is something in the water, literally, surrounding homes in Norfolk's Ingleside neighborhood.
“My first thought for a while is, ‘That looks really cool and crazy.' But it also looks toxic and dangerous," Neil Boden laughed. "So I took some pictures and asked what they [social media] thought it was.”
Rhonda Ambrose called the city's non-emergency police line, because of the startling color.
“Could it be a red tide? I said nope, I’ve lived here 42 years and never seen anything like that," she said.
The City of Norfolk said the cause of the vibrant, neon-orange discoloration in the Broad Creek of the Elizabeth River is due to a mulch dye spill in the neighborhood.
On Thursday evening, Norfolk's Fire-Rescue and Public Work's Stormwater Division notified the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that there was a spill of iron oxide dye used to color mulch. The dye entered a storm drain that emptied the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River, and the City of Norfolk Fire Marshal issued a violation to the responsible party for an "illicit discharge to a storm drain".
DEQ and Norfolk are investigating the cause and impacts of the spill. Norfolk said the iron oxide dye is nonhazardous and isn't expected to cause any environmental or health impacts and should dissipate in the following days.
"While the pictures can be stunning, we are happy to find out that the dye that went into the creek is nontoxic and will not have any lasting effects," said Joe Rieger, Elizabeth River Project Deputy Director of Restoration. "However, this is why we ask people not to put things down the storm drains as they find their way into the river."
The City of Norfolk reminds residents to responsibly dispose of materials.