State inspectors are following up on several complaints of bad fuel at a local BP gas station.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture has received complaints about the gas at the "Big 10" BP gas station in Bettendorf. Customers said their engines stopped running after filling up at the station last week.
The results aren't final, but state inspectors believe the problems were caused by water in the gasoline.
"There was somehow water introduced into the fuel," said Michael Manahl, Weight and Measurements Bureau Director. "It's not just a little bit of water, it's a large quantity of water."
Inspectors with the state say it's extremely rare to find water in gasoline. When it does happen, it's usually an isolated situation, stemming from some type of operator error.
"Very rarely does it come from the fuel source itself, from the terminal or the pipeline through a tank or into the station," said Manahl. "Sometimes it happens at a station when it rains a lot and the cap doesn't get put back on properly."
Management didn't want to comment but an employee confirmed there was a problem with some of the gas the station was selling.
"They stopped using that product right away," Manahl said, "They bagged those pumps and that tank. Now, we're testing the fuel that was in there."
The bad fuel is being sent to several labs. But inspectors still have work to do. They must try and find out how the gasoline could have been contaminated with water.
"We don't know how or why it got in there and that's what we're trying to figure out. Where it came from, how it got there."
In the meantime, inspectors want to assure drivers that it isn't dangerous to fill up at the "Big 10" gas station.
"They have clean fuel in there now," Manahl said.
"Big 10" management won't face any penalties, either, unless inspectors find out damage was done on purpose.
If you encounter a problem with any fuel you put in your tank, state inspectors say to contact either the gas station directly or the Department of Agriculture to file a complaint.
