schuylkill river oil spill

Approximately 250 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay and numerous partner agencies responded to the incident. (Photo credit: U.S. Coast Guard photo, Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Oyler)

(photo provided)

PHILADELPHIA -- An oil spill Monday reported afternoon, which saw thousands of gallons of heating oil seep into the Schuylkill River, prompted a multi-agency response to clean up the mess.

Approximately 200 gallons of home heating oil entered the waterway that feeds into the Delaware River.

The source of the overflow -- which totaled more than 4,000 gallons -- was traced back to a sensor malfunction on an emergency generator at a CenturyLink facility between Market and Chestnut streets near 23rd Street, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

According to Newsworks, the leak began Saturday night and crossed CSX railroad tracks before entering the river, however the site is downstream from where the city's water intakes are located.

According to the city's office of emergency management, the water department's intake valves were closed and the spill posed no threat of health concerns. The state Department of Environmental Protection reported Monday there was no oil sheen in open water and the spilled fuel was contained to ice in the river.

We are assisting @USCG & @PhillyFireDept coordinate clean up response to home heating oil spill on Schuylkill River pic.twitter.com/qi3Gi1gRZV — Philadelphia OEM (@PhilaOEM) January 25, 2016

Miller Environmental Group Inc., an oil spill response organization, assisted with clean-up operations, according to the Coast Guard, which was monitoring the situation as of Monday afternoon.

The site of the spill at 2400 Market Street is just shy of the banks of the Schuylkill, which feeds into the Delaware River farther south near the Navy Yard. Additional agencies that responded to the spill included the Environmental Protection Agency, the city's fire and water departments and the state's fish and boat commission.

Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.