As the river rises and falls, it could cause a periodic sheen on the water. People should avoid those areas. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) will continue to monitor the situation and no further updates will be given, unless necessary.

The diesel fuel spill was discovered Friday, July 15 on the Tippecanoe River north of Winamac, and emergency officials immediately responded to contain it. On Saturday morning (July 16)44, the IDEM described the Tippecanoe River contamination as a four-mile-long "sheen" that was reported on the water surface.

IDEM also reported at that time the contamination had been contained, and was being cleaned. Residents, fishermen, boaters, Tippecanoe River State Park visitors and the Power Show attendees at the Winamac park were asked to avoid using the river downstream of the state park until further notice.

The spill was eventually traced to a leaking diesel fuel storage tank on a farm on CR 550 N in Tippecanoe Township, east of Beardstown and northeast of the state park. Pulaski County Emergency Management director Sheri Gaillard described the spill as "inadvertent" in nature. The spill had leaked into a drainage tile and then into the river.

At one point last weekend, the diesel fuel left a pink iridescent residue in the water that floated along the river south of the Tippecanoe River State Park at least as far downstream as the public access site at Haschel's Bridge near VanMeter Park.

IDEM is conducting chemical tests to confirm the identify the substance of the sheen, some of which reportedly dissipated and diluted as it moved downstream before being contained, according to a statement from the agency.

Other agencies responding to the mishap were the Pulaski County Health Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.