Addressing water quality woes in Sheridan amid the Elk Fire

(KOTA) - Some people in Sheridan County, Wyoming, may be concerned about the quality of their water supply, due to the Elk fire.

There are concerns that ash or firefighting materials could have seeped into Big Goose Creek near Beckton.

"We proactively started using activated carbon a few days ago," Sheridan's Assistant Utilities Director Jacob Martineau said. "We did that just because we didn't know when we would receive that ash and sediment loadings at the plant. We took samples of the ash tested in our lab. We can effectively remove it and we introduced that into our treatment process, just proactively at this point."

Maps show the Big Goose Creek water intake within the perimeter of the fire. Photos taken by Sheridan city officials also show that a nearby treatment plant remains distant enough to keep the facility safe.