Spallumcheen manure lagoon breach creates water worries

Conservation officers are investigating after a manure storage lagoon on a Spallumcheen farm overflowed.

The spill occurred in the same area where residents have been raising concerns about high levels of nitrates in their drinking water source, the Hullcar Aquifer.

Residents are worried about whether the breach will impact their water.

The farm had previously been warned their storage capacity was inadequate, which has some concerned the province isn’t doing enough to prevent spills and protect drinking water.

Grace-Mar Farms’ owner John Kampman said the spill has been contained and is being soaked up so it can eventually be stored as a solid.

Residents are particularly concerned that some of the spilled liquid appears to have been spread on a field.

“We don’t know how much effluent was spilled. We don’t know how much they picked up and in fact by vacuuming up the effluent from the spill and moving it 700 metres or 500 metres out into the field they’ve just relocated it. They haven’t eliminated it,” said Spallumcheen drinking water advocate Al Price.

The farm admits some liquid was spread on a field in an effort to minimize the impact of the spill. Kampman said water testing is being done and he doesn’t believe the incident will impact the aquifer.

“It was an accident that happened. I have to do my best to find a way to contain that manure,” said Kampman.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was an accident that happened. I have to do my best to find a way to contain that manure," said Kampman.

The province had previously warned the farm that their storage capacity for “agricultural waste” was inadequate. In April 2016, the province sent Grace-Mar Farms a warning letter and told the farm it needed to show it would have enough storage space going forward.

Kampman said he had reduced the size of his herd since then and believed he had enough storage capacity.

He blamed the overflow on rain and snow runoff.

However, some feel that the lagoon breach is evidence the province has not done enough to follow up on last year’s letter and ensure the farm had adequate storage.

“It appears there was no follow-up to see if they had done any repairs or expansion of the lagoon and so the breach happened,” said Price.

Global News has reached out to the Ministry of Environment and is awaiting a response.