Officials are still advising the public to avoid fishing or wading in Hickman Creek in the Alexandria area, and to use an alternate source for watering cattle.  The affected area of Hickman Creek is from Edgewood Street in Alexandria, approximately one and a half miles downstream to the Highway 53 Bridge.

As Friday, August 13, Environmental Protection Agency contractors have located and identified a seep that was going into Hickman Creek.  The contractors have started some remediation to limit and control the amount of material that can enter the creek by digging a pit and pumping the suspected contamination out of the area.

EPA contractors also began aeration downstream of the impacted water to mitigate further impacts to the creek.  Officials are still awaiting lab results from water samples to determine exactly what the material is. As many as 2,000 fish are estimated to have been killed due to the contamination.

In response to questions from concerned citizens, the Alexandria municipal water supply is still SAFE to drink.  Alexandria’s drinking water is purchased from Smith County Utility District and is not taken from Hickman creek. 

Representatives on site include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), DeKalb County Emergency Management, and the town of Alexandria.