Emergency officials respond to loose barges on Ohio River, one with 1,400 tons of methanol

An emergency team is responding to a "barge incident" on the Ohio River in Louisville on Tuesday, according to a Twitter post from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet.

Ten out of 11 barges came loose from a tug – a boat that assists other vessels in or out of port. One of the barges was carrying 1,400 tons of methanol, a chemical used in everyday products, and was partially submerged at McAlpine Dam, the tweet said.

The incident occurred downriver from Louisville, and the nearest Kentucy intake station is in Henderson, about two hours west of the city. Kathleen Speicher from the Louisville Water Co. said there should be no impact on the city's water supply due to the location of the incident, as it occurred downriver from Louisville's water intake.

"Your water is safe to drink," Speicher said. "But we will continue to monitor the situation."

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In a social media post at about 12:30 p.m., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the lock chambers on the McAlpine Dam would be closed, describing the incident as a "navigation accident" that had occurred at about 2 a.m. that morning. No injuries were reported, the post said.

Three barges were still pinned against the lower side of the dam Tuesday afternoon, but USACE said all others had been recovered. The locks would remain closed until the barges were stabilized, the post added.

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, navigation industry and marine surveyors to start the recovery efforts of the remaining barges," the post said. "... USACE will continue to coordinate closely with the (U.S. Coast Guard) and the towing industry during this temporary closure."

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Officials in Western Kentucky are also monitoring the situation, according to Josh Thompson, Henderson Water Utility's treatment superintendent, who said the company is working with the Kentucky Division of Water and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission in the aftermath of the incident.

It would take at least a couple of days for the chemicals to travel the approximately 200 miles of river between Louisville and Henderson, Thompson said, and the company has measures in place to treat the water if it were to be impacted by the spill. Methanol is "fairly volatile" and dissipates quickly, he added – and while the barge was reported to be carrying 1,400 tons of the chemical, it wasn't a complete spill of that entire total. Water officials are monitoring the aftermath of the incident, he said, but are not concerned for water users in the city as of Tuesday afternoon.

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This story will be updated.

Reporter Lucas Aulbach contributed. Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 10 barges loose on Ohio River near Louisville, one containing methanol