By Blake Jackson
A large dairy farm in central Wisconsin has reported a second manure spill within a few months, raising environmental concerns. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is monitoring the situation closely after the latest incident at Deercreek Holsteins LLC in Marathon County.
The farm, which operates as a concentrated animal feeding operation with nearly 1,780 cows and 300 heifers, reported the spill after manure overflowed from a storage tank. The incident occurred when manure flowed backward through a transfer system due to a suspected valve failure.
“The farm believes it was a valve system within the transfer line that failed and resulted in manure back flowing from the waste storage facility backwards through the pipe and into that transfer tank,” Salscheider said.
The overflow from the 10,000-gallon tank flowed downhill into a nearby stream connected to Black Creek. Officials reported dead fish in the affected tributary, though no contamination has yet been observed in Black Creek itself. The total volume of the spill is still unknown.
This incident is similar to a previous spill earlier this year, which involved equipment failure during manure transfer. The farm owner acknowledged the issue and shared the steps taken to address it.
“Despite passing engineering specs, a valve system appears to have failed resulting in the current circumstance. We self-reported the incident and immediately worked on containment measures and had it completely contained in a matter of hours and are working diligently on clean up efforts,” Phillipi said.
“We have implemented controls and process improvements, as well as replacing the contractor involved on the prior spill,” Phillipi continued. “For this matter, we will be reviewing all containment related systems.”
To prevent further damage, the farm installed barriers to stop manure from reaching wetlands and streams. Cleanup efforts include using pumps and vacuum trucks to remove contaminated material.
Experts note that such reverse flow incidents are uncommon but stress the importance of monitoring equipment closely.
“We recommend to farms to keep an eye on their transfer systems, keep an eye on their pump systems, and make sure they’re in good operating condition,” Salscheider said.
The DNR will continue inspections and determine any necessary enforcement actions.
Categories: Wisconsin, General