By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – A woman suffered suffered minor injuries after an explosion Thursday morning at a water reclamation plant in southeast Bloomington.

The explosion happened around 8 a.m. in a digester boiler room at the Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District plant in Randolph Township, according to a news release.

Randy Stein, the district’s executive director, said the worker is being treated at a local hospital.

“We’re still looking into what happened this morning, but we’re grateful that our employee was not seriously injured. That is the most important thing right now,” said Stein. “I also want to thank the multiple first-responders for their quick response.”

Agencies at the scene are the Downs, Randolph, Heyworth and Bloomington Township fire departments.

Two other employees were at the plant at the time of the explosion, but neither was injured, said Stein, adding a damage estimate is not yet available.

Stein said a digester converts sludge into biosolids, methane gas and water. The incident is not affecting the areas served by the southeast plant, including parts of Bloomington, the village of Downs and the nearby Crestwicke subdivision.

BNWRD also operates a larger plant on West Oakland Avenue in Bloomington that serves most of Bloomington and all of Normal.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]