Fuel leak doesn't stop Batavia fest
A fuel tank for carnival rides at Windmill City Festival in Batavia leaked diesel fuel early Friday afternoon into a storm sewer that leads to the Fox River.
A private party notified the streets department at 1:23 p.m. that the cap had come off the top of the tank, which supplies the main generator for the rides. The tank had just been filled, said Batavia Fire Department Battalion Chief Randy Banker. Fire officials suspect the delivery person did not tighten the cap securely, and that vibrations from the generator caused the cap to fall off.
The carnival is set up on Houston Street west of Island Avenue. The storm sewer flows south and east, dumping into the river near Shumway Avenue.
The fire department put absorbent pads in the sewer and on the river to collect the fuel, and left them in place for several hours. Banker said about 20 gallons were spilled.
No one was injured, and the carnival and festival kept going while the fire department took care of the spill.
The incident will be reported to the state fire marshal and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.