Lab tests show dead rats in Norris no threat
Although Norris police are still investigating who dumped more than 300 dead rats near the city’s water plant on June 27, laboratory test showed there was no danger to the city’s water supply, according to City Manager Bailey Whited.
Whited told The Courier News that laboratory examination found no evidence of infection in the dead white rats, which were found strewn along the banks of Clear Creek in the area of the Norris water treatment plant along Lower Clear Creek Road.
“They were no threat to the water supply, which was always safe,” Whited said.
Norris police were dispatched to the site on Saturday evening, June 27, after reports from passers-by about the dead white rats having been dumped.
Utility Superintendent Tony Wilkerson said there were “four different piles of them tossed over the bank of the [Clear] creek.”
Although the city’s fresh water is treated at that plant, it comes from a source in another area, and is not drawn out of Clear Creek, city officials said.
“There is an active investigation by our police department,” Whited told The Courier News earlier.
“There is no concern about the water. It was not in a location that made a threat to the safety of the drinking water.”
According to a news release from the city:
“The Norris Police Department received a report of illegal dumping during the evening hours of Saturday, June 27.
“It was reported by a Norris resident that a number of deceased rats had been dumped in the area of Lower Clear Creek Road and Reservoir Road in Norris. After responding, Norris officers located several sites where rats had been disposed of.
“Norris Police Department is investigating this incident … and is working with Anderson County Animal Control and the Anderson County Emergency Management Agency,” the release said.
“Illegal dumping of any type is not condoned by the city of Norris and does not align with our community standards. If anyone has any information regarding this case, please contact the Norris Police Department at 865-494-0880.”
