Soap suds are best kept within the confines of a bathtub or a kitchen sink, and it was abundantly clear these scrubbing bubbles are not welcome on municipal streets, especially heavily traveled thoroughfares.

But that was exactly the situation Jan. 16, when an industrial processing issue led to the wastewater delivery system at the Stone Street sewer pumping station becoming overwhelmed with soap suds from a producer of liquid hand soap.

Zack Newton, superintendent of the Kankakee Environmental Services Utilities, shared some information with Kankakee City Council members before Tuesday’s meeting about the most unusual situation, which began about 10 a.m. Jan. 16.

“They had some sort of process issue,” Newton said of the industrial operation.

The identity of the company at which the soap originated has not been confirmed, Mayor Chris Curtis said late this week. He only said it is a south Kankakee industry.

“It’s an ongoing investigation. We believe we have identified the source, but that has not yet been confirmed,” he said.

Newton was asked whether the Environmental Protection Agency was involved. He said the agency was not at the site, but it could become involved.

The situation began as utility crews were checking on various sewer sites, as is their practice. The crew encountered foam rising out of manholes at the Stone Street pumping station along Kennedy Drive at the railroad viaduct.

As the bubbling concoction continued to rise out of the sanitary sewer line, the suds began to overwhelm the location.

Newton was alerted of the situation.

His first thought was what his crew was seeing was snow; however, it didn’t take long to determine this was not Mother Nature’s handiwork, but rather an industrial user’s product.

The growing suds soon spilled down the location’s grassy slope and were heading toward Kennedy Drive. The four-lane road was about to get a bath.

The lanes were closed for about five hours.

Kankakee police began to monitor the area, and before long, one northbound lane was closed, and then the second lane was shut down.

In all, ESU wound up having 10 employees at the site. Another two crew members from the city’s Department of Public Works were required, as well as police and fire personnel.

On the bright side, the soap bubbles were not toxic, and officials were able to keep the vast majority of the mess from reaching storm water collection points to keep it out of the Kankakee River, Newton said.

The city administration is calculating the cost associated with this situation, and a bill will be forwarded to the sewer customer.