"Tropical Storm Debby brought intense rainfall and flooding threats to North Carolina on Thursday, highlighting the vulnerability of hog lagoons and wastewater treatment plants."
"While rain pelted North Carolina and raised the threat of flooding across the state, officials were monitoring almost 70 dams and lagoons holding animal waste that had overflowed or were at risk of failing on Thursday, a number that more than doubled between the morning and the afternoon.
At least 17 animal feeding operations were included in the monitoring. At least three had taken on enough water from Tropical Storm Debby to raise the waste within the lagoons to higher levels than permitted, although they were not necessarily overflowing, according to a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality tracking website.
Most of these animal operations are large-scale hog lagoons that mix the urine, feces and other waste from swine with water and anaerobic bacteria. The resulting slurry is stored in open-air pits that turn bright pink as the bacteria digest the sludge to reduce the odor.
The pollution enters waterways when open pits overflow or when the earthen walls of a pit fail. Hog waste that has been sprayed on nearby fields can flow downstream if the fields are oversaturated, although spraying is not allowed when it’s raining. Dead animals, killed in the flooding, can also pollute waterways."
Austyn Gaffney reports for the New York Times August 8, 2024.
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