State officials say an underground fuel vault on the Alaska Native Medical Center campus likely caused the oil spill that closed a popular Anchorage dog park.
The spill at University Lake was first reported in late June. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation announced the likely spill source late last week.
Kelly Rawalt, a spokesperson for the department, said as soon as the leak was identified, the underground container was sealed off. She said the investigation into the spill is ongoing, as are cleanup efforts, with oil absorbing pads and vacuum trucks in use.
“It’s looking good, we continue to have the sheen contained although I don’t know that there’s much of a sheen left anymore, which is great news,” she said on Friday.
Wildlife personnel continue to keep birds out of the area with noise and, recently, a decoy fox.
On Monday morning, Rawalt said that there was still no set date for reopening the off-leash dog park at University Lake, but hopefully it should be soon.
Dev Hardikar was Alaska Public Media's 2023 summer news intern. Reach him at dhardikar@alaskapublic.org.
