Swimming, fish consumption advisories lifted for parts of waterways after South Hill industrial fire

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has lifted the recreational water and fish consumption advisories for multiple areas following the industrial fire in South Hill .

The advisories have been lifted for Mountain Creek, Dockery Creek, and the Roanoke River, including Lake Gaston and to the North Carolina state line.

Factors considered by the department before lifting the advisories were field observations from environmental field staff, rainfall and other weather conditions, and surface water sampling to monitor concentrations of contaminants.

The Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency have been testing the creeks and river since the fire to help evaluate impacts of the chemicals on public health. Based on those factors, the public can resume recreational use and fish consumption.

Advisories were issued out of an abundance of caution due to a release of chemical fires from an industrial fire in South Hill on July 6.

The department said runoff from water used to extinguish the fire created a plume which traveled along the nearby Dockery and Mountain creeks. Chemicals stored at the facility included fuel, fertilizers, herbicides and many others. The site has since been fully contained.

VDH said it has no observed no evidence of impacts to drinking water.

For updates to the situation, visit the department’s South Hill Warehouse Fire incident webpage .

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