Newton Waterways Turn 'Milky White' After Paint Contamination

NEWTON, MA — The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said the white paint that washed off a business's wall and into the Hammond Brook, turning it a milky color for hours this weekend, wasn't hazardous.

"It looked like milk that had somehow gotten contaminated with coffee," said Kathleen Kouril Grieser, who is the vice president of the Bullough's Pond Association, and one of several Newton residents alarmed by the contaminated waterways.

Around 4 p.m. someone called the Newton Fire Department to check out a report of white, cloudy water in Hammond Brook where the water usually runs clear.

The brook runs mostly underground but makes an appearance at the Newton Centre Playground on its way to the City Hall Ponds and then on to Bullough's Pond.

"We tracked it back to a repair shop at 749 rear Beacon St," said Lt. Michael Bianchi, a spokesperson for the Newton Fire Department.

Fire officials found that the repair shop was using a power washer to clean the outside of the auto shop. White paint residue from the pressure-wash flowed into a storm drain that discharged into a small brook. They then called the city water department and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to report the "white milky discoloration" of the waterway.

"It’s likely that this residue is primarily titanium dioxide, the most common pigment in most exterior paints," said Edmond Colletta of MassDEP in an email.

MassDEP told the Newton Fire Department there was no feasible way to recover the paint residue from the brook, that it was unlikely that the condition constituted a reportable release under its regulations, because titanium dioxide does not exhibit any hazardous characteristics, said Colletta.

The only option, was to let it dissipate on its own, MassDEP said.

The white milky mixture made its way a little more than a mile downstream from Newton Centre to the ponds at Newton City Hall by 6 p.m. and then made an appearance farther down at Bullough's Pond, according to Kouril Grieser.

City officials requested Clean Harbors clean the pond, but MassDEP said that wouldn't be feasible. Instead, sending someone to document the conditions and take a sample of the water for later analysis.

"MassDEP later did a test and a pH analysis and did not identify any levels of concern and supported the conclusion of the Fire Department that this was exterior paint, which is not covered under our regulations," Colletta said.

That means MassDEP will not be penalizing anyone.

The Department of Environmental Protection said they are not planning any other tests or investigations, but said the city may be following up.

Kouril Grieser, who snapped several pictures at the city hall ponds and where Hammond Brook starts flowing into Bullough's Pond that evening said she's never seen anything like it before in the waterways here.

"It was very dramatic," she said, noting she saw ducks swimming and Canadian geese feeding amid the mixture.

But just before 11 a.m. Saturday morning most of it was gone from Bullough's Pond, she said, leaving only a few spots that looked cloudy.

Although there are legal responsibilities for businesses to contain whatever debris that's produced as a result of their work, it's unclear if the city will penalize the business for the substance in the waterways.

Patch has reached out to the city's chief operating officer for comment. Patch also reached out to the business accused of the power-washing that lead to the contamination.