NORTH PLATTE, Neb. -- Officials blamed running water for an estimated 2,900 gallons of diesel fuel that overflowed a storage tank at the Union Pacific Railroad yard Saturday morning, the North Platte Telegraph reports.

North Platte firefighters and Union Pacific Railroad hazardous materials workers were called to Bailey Yard a little after 2 a.m. Saturday after the diesel fuel spilled on the ground.

According to North Platte Fire Chief Paul Pedersen, the spill evidently occurred when a 100,000-gallon storage tank overflowed. He said the tank was part of a fuel recovery system at the railroad and was near the refueling depot.

The system works like this: Any fuel or oil spilled around the refueling depot is washed into a drain with water, then pumped into the storage tank, according to Pedersen. The fuel then separates from the water and rises to the top, allowing the railroad to recapture the diesel.

Pedersen said someone apparently left the water on and the waste fuel overflowed from the tank. The leak was stopped quickly, according to Pedersen. Firefighters were on the scene for three hours.

UP Railroad spokesman Mark Davis said crews got the leak stopped at about 6 a.m.

Pedersen said railroad workers had a 2,300-gallon suction truck working on the spill along with a backhoe to dig up contaminated dirt and replace it.

Davis said crews were able to recover about 2,500 gallons of the spilled waste.

Pedersen said both he and railroad officials talked with Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality officials, who said they would follow up with a visit to the spill site.