Data centre leaks 5,000 gallons of fuel into waterway after suspected ‘computer glitch’

The leak (not pictured) is under investigation (Picture: Google Maps)

A waterway has been polluted with thousands of gallons of fuel after it leaked from a data centre in New Jersey.

Roughly 5,000 gallons of fuel leaked from a storage tank at Equinix’s NY2 data center in Secaucus and flowed into Anderson Creek – a narrow tributary running through the New Jersey Meadowlands wetland in the northeast of the US state – on Friday evening.

Secaucus mayor Michael Gonnelli said the spill had been caused by a ‘computer glitch’.

However,Equinix – the ‘largest global data center and colocation provider for enterprise network and cloud computing’,according to its website – said an investigation into the cause of the leak was still underway.

Containment barriers and vacuum trucks were sent out to suck a mixture of diesel and water out of the creek in a bid to stop the pollution from spreading.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said the fuel did not reach the Hackensack River,a 45-mile-long river stretching through New Jersey and neighbouring New York,ultimately flowing into Newark Bay.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Environmental campaigners branded the leak from the data centre – circled in red -a ‘slap in the face’ (Picture: Google Maps)Equinix said the investigation has not yet concluded (Picture: Google Maps)But environmental campaigners and experts have branded the leak a ‘slap in the face’ and wondered whether it could have been contained entirely.Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Sheehan told the nonprofit news outlet Gothamist: ‘The tributaries are the capillary system of the whole ecosystem.‘All the water that runs off of our land goes into the creeks first,and then runs through the creeks out into the river.’Equinix said a fuel release was detected from a tank outside its facility on Friday,but that staff stopped the leak environmental contractor Clean Harbors and the fire brigade were called in and the DEP and Hudson Regional Health Commission were notified.Mayor Gonnelli said the data centre had been operating from the site since 2001. ‘We’ve never had a problem before this time,’ he said.‘There’s a lot of complaints about data centers,I can tell you that. But right now,they did everything they had to do.’The DEP diesel fuel which had leaked from the facility had been contained.Equinix said a full investigation had been launched to establish the cause of the incident and to prevent future accidents.The company said: ‘We are working closely with those agencies,local officials,and community stakeholders to ensure a thorough remediation,’ adding that it remained ‘committed to resolving this quickly,transparently,and responsibly.’