Cloudy streams, acrid smells linked to airport dumping

From the deck behind their house, Darryl and Joyce Kersey can look over a hillside and see a bubbling creek about 20 feet below, with clear, shallow water.

Well, except for a few weeks in the spring, when the water turns milky white and the air fills with a stench that reminds them of kerosene.

"It gets really foul," Joyce Kersey said. "It's terrible."

A few blocks west, Chares Pierson describes the smell from another stream as "sewer water with ammonia in it." Last month, he said, the aroma was so pungent his eyes watered up.

It's become a rite of spring for the neighborhoods just east of the Indianapolis International Airport.

The airport periodically dumps tens of thousands of gallons of de-icing chemicals into local streams, under a permit issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

During cold weather, the airlines use the chemicals to remove ice from aircraft to ensure safe takeoffs. The airport also uses chemicals to de-ice ramps and runways, and allow for safe landings.

The airport collects more than 300 million gallons of liquid runoff a year in large, underground basins, mostly during the cold months, when snow, ice and freezing air are a regular challenge.

The airport says it regularly takes chemical readings of the runoff, and dumps the water in streams only when the chemicals are below levels outlined in a pollution discharge permit issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

The chemicals include propylene glycol, potassium formate, sodium formate, potassium acetate and urea-ammonia, according to the IDEM permit.

When chemical levels in the basins are high, the airport sends the water through sewers to a wastewater treatment plant, airport spokesman Jeff Dutton said.

He said the airport releases the de-icer runoff into local streams "a few times a year."

The airport is permitted to discharge its de-icing basins into Seerley Creek (which runs by Pierson's house) and Mars Ditch (which runs behind the Kerseys' house), as well the East Fork of the White Lick Creek, Center Creek, North Taxiway Channel, Sterling Run and other local streams.

He questioned whether there was a direct link between complaints of residents and the de-icing chemicals.

"As you know, this is an industrial area, so we'd question, are you sure it's coming from the airport and not one of our neighbors?" Dutton said.

But the Marion County Department of Health, which has investigated after receiving complaints, says it believes the chemicals are coming from the airport.

The health department has examined the airport's discharge records and compared them to the timing of the complaints.

"Based on the evidence, it's highly probable," the two are connected, said Adam Rickert, the county's manager of water quality.

The chemicals seem to be stressing out fish and aquatic life, Rickert said. The health department took water samples from Seerley Creek at Southwest Drive in May and found the level of dissolved oxygen fell far below safe levels for fish.

Fish need at least 5 parts per million of dissolved oxygen in water to allow them to survive. The health department found that water tested May 11 contained just 0.83 parts per million of dissolved oxygen, and water tested May 26 contained 2.84 parts per million.

"If it goes lower, that's when fish come to the surface for oxygen, and when they start dying," Rickert said. The fish could die or flee in search of healthier waters, he added.

Dick van Frank, a retired microbiologist and board member of the Indianapolis group Improving Kids Environment, said the low readings are troubling.

"That's a good indication that de-icing chemicals are eating up a lot of dissolved oxygen, killing the fish and contaminating the creeks," he said.

The county has not taken any enforcement action against the airport, saying it is up to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to review and enforce its permits.

An IDEM spokesman said the agency is "presently looking into some potential problems" with the airport's disposal of de-icing chemicals.

"Our staff are still actively inspecting to determine if there is a problem," IDEM spokesman Barry Sneed said. He added that the agency previously had not found problems with the de-icing chemical; nor has it levied any fines or enforcement action against the airport in connection with the chemical dumping into streams.

The streams run by hundreds of houses, along with apartments, churches and schools.

During three recent visits to the area, The Indianapolis Star was unable to notice any filmy water or acrid smells. But that was after weeks of heavy rains, which might have flushed the creeks clean.

Pierson and Kersey separately provided photos they said they took of local creeks in May. The pictures show milky-white water, making the creek opaque.

Dana O'Neill, who lives in a apartment building that backs up onto Mars Ditch, often takes her two boys, aged 6 and 8, to the creek to catch crawdads and play in the water.

She said she has noticed smells, but not of chemicals, only of the woods and animals. She has not noticed any health reactions from the water.

"We go down there almost every day," she said. "It's fun for the boys."

Margaret Jackson, who lives near the Kerseys, said she notices unpleasant odors from the Mars Ditch behind her house.

"There was one time the creek looked all white and kind of filmy and there was filth everywhere," she said.

The most recent incident occurred in early May, several neighbors said, when the creek suddenly appeared white and foul odors overtook the area for about a week.

Pierson, who lives on South Lynhurst Drive, said he went down to Seerley Creek, which runs through the front yard of his mother's house nearby, near his house to investigate. The water was so milky white, he couldn't see below the surface.

"I was kind of sick to my stomach afterward," he said. "My eyes wouldn't stop watering."

The Kerseys, who live on Tucson Drive, say the May discharge was so severe they had trouble sitting outside on their deck.

"We love sitting out here," Joyce Kersey said, standing on the deck, festooned with wind chimes and bird feeders. "This is our sanctuary. What we see and smell cannot be good for the environment."

Call Star reporter John Russell at (317) 444-6283. Follow him on Twitter @johnrussell99.