Daviess County Emergency Management Agency (DCEMA) has announced on social media that Vectren, the gas provider of a majority of southern Indiana, will bleed lines across the Ohio River Thursday and Friday.
When Vectren performed this type of maintenance in early March, the natural gas smell drifted across the river and settled on Owensboro’s east side, causing many citizens to call Atmos Energy with suspected gas line leaks.
During that March incident, Atmos representative Kay Coomes reported the company had received 63 leak calls in the Highway 60 and 54 corridor areas.
A Vectren representative eventually confirmed that the smell that blew through Owensboro originated in Chrisney, Ind. The representative said Vectren was conducting a controlled release of gas along a transmission pipeline in an effort to assist construction. In order to work on the line the pipe needed to be purged of gas.
After that incident, DCEMA reached out to their counterparts in Spencer County, who received the same panic in their area. The two agencies reached out to Vectren to open a line of communication to prevent future false alarms like the March event.
“They did a better job of notifying us this time,” said John Clouse, DCEMA deputy director.
Clouse said the atmospheric conditions and rain in Thursday’s forecast are not as likely to bring the natural gas odor to Owensboro, but Vectren will be bleeding their lines again tomorrow.
“Just because they are bleeding lines does not mean people should ignore if they smell a leak near their home,” Clouse said. “The odor is there for a reason.”
If a citizen smells gas in their home or at their meter, they are encouraged to call Atmos at 1-866-322-8667.
