HOULTON – When Code Enforcement Officer Wade Hanson headed into work Friday morning, he saw something floating in the Meduxnekeag River that he knew people would be asking him about – foam.

There was a circle of white froth bobbing along the edge of the river beneath the North Street Bridge, and it appears to be snow upon first glance.

A closer look at both the substance and the weather forecast quickly dispelled that notion, however.

“I saw it this morning when I was coming into work and I knew that it was going to be a concern to people or a source of questions for me,” he admitted Friday. “I walked all along the river and looked at it.”

The foam, he quickly assured, is not the result of contaminants infiltrating the river.

Hanson placed a phone call to the Department of Environmental Protection in Presque Isle on Friday afternoon to make the correct diagnosis about the esoteric spume.

According to DEP officials, the foam is just another aftereffect of the torrential rains that have been clobbering the state over the past week.

“Due to the heavy rains and the high flow of the river, it has caused the natural phosphates in the Meduxnekeag to foam up,” Hanson explained. “I was told by the DEP that if it was sunny outside, you would not even notice the foam.”

More than 9 inches of rain fell over parts of the state last weekend, and the raging waters have washed out roads, flooded basements and elevated the water levels in small streams and lakes.

More rain is scheduled through Saturday.