Storm Water Infiltrates Tanks at West Hempstead Gas Station

The heavy rainfall from Tuesday night's storm infiltrated the supply of gasoline at the Blue Xpress station in West Hempstead, creating problems for customers who purchased the watered-down fuel.

The following morning, Nassau County Police and Fire Marshals, and representatives from the county's Consumer Affairs division, the Town of Hempstead's Sanitation Department and the New York State Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Weights and Measures all responded around 9:30 a.m. to the station, which is located on the corner of Hempstead Morton avenues.

A spokesperson for the Nassau County Police told Patch that the rain water had flowed into the station's gas tanks and caused problems for drivers who bought the contaminated gas. She explained that officials from the New York State Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Weights and Measures were called in to investigate. 

A spokesman for the department of Agriculture and Markets said, "The vapor line for this station was damaged following the heavy rains ... a considerable amount of water was mixed with the gasoline and diesel in the storage tanks. The pumps have been shut down and we ordered the tanks to be corrected."

The gas station was closed for business when Patch visited Thursday as a crew worked to repair a vent pipe that broke last Friday when a car accident occurred on the premise. The broken pipe, which leads to the station's gas tanks, allowed the rain water to seep in.

One of the workers told Patch that the station would be just down for "awhile" and that the cars damaged as a result of the contaminated gasoline are being repaired.

Did you purchase watered-down gasoline from this station Wednesday?