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Fire runoff raises concerns about water quality

The fire at the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant led to roughly 6,500 people being asked to evacuate. Screenshot of drone footage on February 1, 2022 courtesy of the City of Winston-Salem.

The fire at the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant has raised concerns that nearby waterways may have become contaminated. 

State and Forsyth County health officials are investigating the runoff caused by the firefighting and recent rainwater.

In the meantime, they've issued a recreational water advisory for parts of three waterways likely to carry the runoff. Monarcas Creek, just west of the fertilizer plant, is likely the most affected. 

The downstream waterways of Mill Creek and Muddy Creek to the Muddy Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in southwestern Forsyth County are also included in the advisory. 

Public health officials are urging people to stay away from the water until test results come in. They say residents may notice fish kills or sheen on the water. 

If you're concerned about exposure for you, your family, or your pets, contact your health care provider or veterinarian. 

Paul Garber is a Winston-Salem native and an award-winning reporter who began his journalism career with an internship at The High Point Enterprise in 1993. He has previously worked at The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The News and Record of Greensboro and the Winston-Salem Journal, where he was the newspaper's first full-time multimedia reporter. He won the statewide Media and the Law award in 2000 and has also been recognized for his business, investigative and multimedia reporting. Paul earned a BA from Wake Forest University and has a Master's of Liberal Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Master's of Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in Lewisville.

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