BOISE, Idaho — City streets got an unscheduled cleaning as a sudsy citrus-scented foam erupted from manhole covers like geysers.
The bubbles spewed from a three-block stretch on the city's east side Thursday after American Linen accidentally released detergent into the municipal sewer lines. The combination of gravity and churning water whipped the soap into a sudsy foam.
"We have never had a situation like this before," said Vince Trimboli, the public works spokesman.
"It had no effect on the treatment plant at all," Trimboli said.
Officials say the company had a malfunction, caused by human error, in its automated detergent loading device, releasing 167 gallons of a harmless but concentrated detergent.
