Substance in Flood Control Channel Reportedly Paint

A milky substance that contaminated 400,000 gallons of water in an Irvine flood control channel was analyzed Monday as soluble latex paint, an Orange County official said.

A cleanup crew worked throughout the night pumping water from the channel and finished at 11:30 a.m. Monday, said Nira Yamachika, a spokeswoman for the county Environmental Management Agency. Wildlife and vegetation were not affected by the spill, she said.

Yamachika said the diluted paint would not have harmed the environment even if it had all flowed into San Diego Creek, where an unknown quantity of paint did seep, she said.

“If you see something white in the channel, it doesn’t mean it’s something toxic,” said Yamachika, who compared the spill to “washing-up of paint brushes.”

No traces of pesticides were found in the channel near Main Street and Jamboree Boulevard, as officials had speculated Sunday that there might be.

Original estimates Sunday put the contaminated water at 20,000 gallons. Orange County Fire Department officials built two dikes with sandbags to contain the water. Workers from IT Corp. of Wilmington pumped the water and took it to the Irvine Ranch Water District, where it will be tested. If possible, the water will be treated and returned to the channel, Yamachika said.

The paint’s origin was still unknown Monday. Yamachika said Santa Ana or Tustin were likely spots.

The paint had been contaminating the water for three days, according to construction crews working near the intersection of Barranca Road and Red Hill Avenue, Yamachika said.

The channel leads into San Diego Creek and ultimately into Upper Newport Bay, but does not supply drinking water, Yamachika said.

On Easter Sunday, another spill was discovered in the same area. Part of the murky green liquid discovered April 7 turned out to be aircraft-cleaning detergent from the Marine Corps helicopter base in Tustin.