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Like many of you, we’re still trying to grasp the tragic events that unfolded near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport this week. We’re used to seeing UPS jets take off and land several times a day. Nobody could have imagined the horrific sight Tuesday night.
A sea of firefighters headed to the scene to combat the inferno and thick plumes of smoke. It would take an immense amount of water to put out the flames fueled by jet fuel and materials at Kentucky Petroleum Recycling.
The Louisville Fire & Rescue chief quickly texted Louisville Water President Spencer Bruce about boosting the water supply.
“Our first response is fire protection. We did some things at the treatment plant to try to increase flow and pressure into that area,” Bruce said.
UPS Worldport is a large part of the fabric of Louisville’s economy. The hub sits not far from Louisville Water’s distribution facility on Allmond Avenue. With a shelter-in-place order in effect, keeping our crews safe was a top priority.
Once the smoke cleared, teams across Louisville Water arrived in the impact zone on Wednesday. They started doing water quality sampling, inspecting water mains and valves, and checking fire hydrants.
“It’s amazing that every one of our fire hydrants was still standing in that area,” Bruce shared.
Shifting to the focus on water service, Bruce said, “We’re in the process now of taking (water) samples and making sure right in the immediate area of the crash that there’s no issues with their infrastructure and there’s no issues with water quality.”
When you’re dealing with things like jet fuel, oil, and unknown chemicals, safety is paramount. We worked with the Kentucky Division of Water to issue a Consumer Advisory Notice for approximately 50 customers in the impact zone.
“As best as we can tell, it’s all businesses, all small businesses. We did this as a precautionary measure,” Bruce explained. “We don’t suspect any issues. We haven’t lost pressure in that area.”
We are working directly with those customers on proper steps to follow. Louisville Water will continue to collect samples to ensure optimal water quality. For the remainder of the nearly one million we provide drinking water daily, the tap water is safe. If you have further questions, visit LouisvilleWater.com.
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy. We stand strong to support our community, our emergency responders, and the UPS family.
