Unknown quantity of hog manure flows into Thompson River in southern Iowa

5
2009
Manure in storage basins is agitated in order to prevent a continuous buildup of settled solids within the storage structure.

MURRAY – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is investigating a discharge of swine manure from a confinement sow operation in Clarke County that reached the Thompson River in south-central Iowa.

The DNR said the spill occurred about eight miles south of Murray as Swine Graphics–ADL 6 transferred manure from below-building pits to an outdoor basin. The transfer pipe broke, releasing an unknown amount of manure, according to the DNR.

Swine Graphics staff took action to stop the manure release, the DNR report said.

The manure traveled overland to a farm pond, which overflowed and into an unnamed tributary of the Thompson River and then flowed about 2.5 miles to the Thompson River.

The DNR said its staff took water samples and checked for dead fish in the farm pond, the tributary and in the river for several miles downstream. They did not find any dead fish.

The DNR said it will continue to monitor efforts to contain the spill and the cleanup efforts and will consider appropriate enforcement action.

If you see a spill or fish kill, call the DNR’s 24-hour emergency response line at 515-725-8694.

5 COMMENTS

  1. There has to be a better way, folks. These operations are not family based. Mom and dad don’t run these factories, at least not without selling their souls to Big Ag. Our once-lovely state is awash in a sea of pig poop.

  2. Swine Graphics? What a name for a livestock operation. About as far away from agriculture as you can get. Bad for water, bad for air, bad for human health, bad for swine health, bad for sustainability, lots of subsidies all the way around. Welfare farming.

  3. You know, there’s no reason on earth that there should be 73,000+ hogs in northern Iowa. We are not feeding the world. We are polluting the world so a few men can get rich on hogs. It is time to become Muslim and declare the eating of pork a sin. Hogs now get our fresh drinking water and if they don’t, their feces is polluting what we do have. Remind me again who is on the top of that food chain. And no, I do not buy pork products.

  4. Seriously, please keep protesting against the pig processing plant….I can remember the old family farm…pigs and cows in the pasture…breathing fresh air…plenty of room to move around…clean barn…outdoor individual pig houses not crated pigs going crazy in a confinement building…biting and squealing… stomping in and breathing in s**t…You all love bacon…Think about it…Support the family farms not the corporate “let’s make lots of flipping money and screw the people and Mother Nature” You really think they care about the environment or about our health?
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