 U.S. Air Force officials Tuesday disclosed a 150,000-gallon spill of wastewater laced with invisible toxic perfluorinated chemicals, discharged at least six days ago from a tank at Peterson Air Force Base, into the Colorado Springs sewer system. Air Force officials said in the statement that they discovered the spill Oct. 12 during an inspection. “We take all environmental concerns seriously and have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the discharge and prevent it from happening again,” Col. Doug Schiess, commander of the 21st Space Wing at Peterson AFB, said in a prepared statement. Colorado Springs Utilities said the chemical-laden water passed through the utility's Las Vegas Street sewage treatment plant and was released into Fountain Creek. The PFC-laced waste was held in a tank at a firefighter training area on the base, located at the southeastern edge of Colorado Springs. The dome shaped tank in the center of this photo held water that contained an elevated level of perfluorinated compounds, a residual component of a firefighting foam historically used at the base for emergency response. The tank was part of a system used to recirculate water to a firefighter training area. Photo by Stacie Scott, The Gazette 
 
 "There was no risk to the drinking water," said Steve Berry, a Utilities spokesman. While Peterson notified Colorado Springs, base officials didn't warn others downstream. The Air Force banned use of the foam outside fire emergencies last year and last month announced a plan to replace the product at all of its bases around the globe. Although downstream, no drinking water supplied to Pueblo residents by the Pueblo Board of Water Works comes from Fountain Creek, said Paul Fanning, the agency's spokesman. “We would not have been able to remove that chemical before it was discharged back into the environment from our effluent.” 
 
 Fountain Creek flows south toward Pueblo and into the Arkansas River. The Widefield Water and Sanitation District is the only water system immediately downstream of the treatment plant now using the Widefield Aquifer, which leaches water from Fountain Creek, where the chemicals flowed. Since Sept. 9, Security has not pumped any water from wells, water and sanitation district manager Roy Heald said. "But short-term immediate effects - there wouldn't be any for us." It is any industrial process that may use that chemical.” 
 
 El Paso County Public Health “takes this discharge seriously and will coordinate with the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment to collect water samples along Fountain Creek, if warranted,” spokeswoman Danielle Oller said. "The Air Force has demonstrated its commitment to identifying and addressing (perfluorinated compound) contamination at Peterson Air Force Base and facilities nationwide," the state agency said.
– Some 150,000 gallons of water contaminated by toxic firefighting chemicals were discharged from a Colorado Air Force Base into a city sewer system, and authorities can't explain why. Peterson Air Force Base has confirmed that water containing perfluorinated chemicals—PFCs—flowed through Colorado Springs Utilities wastewater treatment plant before ending up in Fountain Creek, which leads to the Arkansas River. PFCs, which have been linked to health problems such as liver and kidney damage, had already been found at up to 20 times safe limits in the area south of the base, the Denver Post reports. A base spokesman tells the Colorado Springs Gazette that the discharge, which was discovered Oct. 12. came from a tank that held outflow from training exercises from as far back as 2013. He says the tank is designed to be difficult to discharge, suggesting the release was an intentional act. The Air Force says it has stopped using firefighting foam containing PFCs, except in emergencies. The Post notes that PFCs have been found at levels deemed dangerous in 63 areas nationwide, with the area south of Colorado Springs among the worst. The Air Force, which has contributed $4.3 million to help area communities deal with the contamination, plans to put out a report on the issue next year.