Woodinville Fire and Life Safety personnel, alerted to the soapy creek, followed it to the business, according to Woodinville Code Enforcement Officer Jason Burt.

Burt, who was called in to investigate, said he discovered the suds came from a drum-type container the company had procured. The container had previously held sulfochem, a type of body soap.

“The company needed to clean the container before using it,” said Burt. “So an employee used about two cups of dishwashing detergent, which mixed with about two cups of the soap left in the bottom of the container. He then dumped it all down the storm drain.”

The employee admitted what he had done, said Burt.

“The owner had told him to do it,” he said. “It’s not a really dangerous chemical, but the employee and the owner were each issued $125 citations.”

They were also ordered to clean out the catch basins which had held some of the substance, he said.

“The business owner felt terrible,” Burt said. “But now he has a new plan on how to control disposal problems.”