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Red food dye was improperly dumped into wastewater in South Jersey, discoloring Pennsauken Creek

There is no risk to public health from the coloring, the Evesham Municipal Utilities Authority said.

The south branch of Pennsauken Creek, along West Main Street in Maple Shade, pictured in 2018. On Tuesday, red food dye got into wastewater and turned parts of the creek red in South Jersey, officials said.
The south branch of Pennsauken Creek, along West Main Street in Maple Shade, pictured in 2018. On Tuesday, red food dye got into wastewater and turned parts of the creek red in South Jersey, officials said.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

Red food dye has been confirmed as the culprit for the discoloration of a wastewater discharge in Pennsauken Creek early Tuesday morning in a Burlington County community, and “there is currently no risk to public health as a result of this incident,” officials said.

The Evesham Municipal Utilities Authority reported Tuesday afternoon that a local beverage manufacturer “improperly dumped” red food dye into the wastewater system.

Around 7 a.m., plant operators noticed “a strange, bright red color” in the treated water being discharged at the Woodstream Waste Water Treatment Plant, the authority explained in a Facebook post.

An investigation determined it was from a beverage manufacturer, which was not named, and according to federal standards, the food dye is not hazardous, the authority said. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection was notified for further action.

“The Evesham Municipal Utilities Authority would like to reassure the residents living around the Woodstream Waste Water Treatment Plant located on Brandywine Drive in the Woodstream section of Evesham Township, that there is currently no risk to public health as a result of this incident,” the authority said.