Forwarded by Jane Clark at [log in to unmask] Please read the news reports below! Certainly unprecedented rainfall amounts in North Carolina but in the Midwest in 1993 we saw not one but several repeated rainfalls of 6-9 inches in a three week period on already saturated ground leading to most of the non-floodplain flooding. Non-floodplain flooding in 1993 accounted for most of the disaster relief monies in the 1993 Great Flood. Now you know one reason why I as a river activist have been so involved in the mega-hog/cattle farm debate. It is an issue that involves more than just bad odor. WE ALL LIVE DOWNSTREAM! Mark Beorkrem >From: Paula Carrell <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: CAFO Campaign Leaders <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: NC hog factory flooding >Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 10:28:20 -0800 > >September 18, 1999 >3:45 p.m. EDT >Flooding shaping up into environmental disaster RALEIGH (AP) -- Alarmed environmental officials surveyed flooded livestock operations and municipal plants Saturday and saw an environmental disaster taking shape in eastern North Carolina. "It was a very sobering trip," said Don Reuter, spokesman for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources after officials took an aerial survey of the area Saturday. He said officials saw farms everywhere that were flooded or surrounded by water. Up and down the coastal plain's rivers and creeks were flooded animal operations, wastewater treatment plants and junkyards, said Reuter. "We've got a real mess on our hands," he said. A stew of sewage, urban runoff, farm chemicals, silt and debris are surging down swollen rivers in the wake of Hurricane Floyd. State environmental officials said at least seven hog lagoons have flooded and one has ruptured, and 20 local government and more than 200 swine farmers have reported problems. "Farms are just being overwhelmed, wastewater treatment plants are being washed out and flooded," said Ernie Seneca, a spokesman for the state Division of Water Quality. In addition, an outbreak of mosquitoes and mold is feared once the waters recede. People with flooded wells in eastern North Carolina have been ordered to boil their water to kill any disease-causing bacteria that might have seeped in, said Linda Sewall, director of the state Division of Environmental Health. "Many wells are improperly constructed. If they're flooded, almost assuredly contaminated water is getting down in those wells, which means it's getting into the groundwater," Sewall said. "That could be a long-term problem." The problem was more widespread elsewhere. Massive flooding in Edgecombe and Pitt counties tainted all the water supplies there, Renee Hoffman, a state public safety spokeswoman, said Saturday. Sewall also said she is concerned about the mold that grows in soaked carpets and furniture, which can cause serious respiratory problems when people inhale spores. Her agency also is drawing up a plan for massive spraying to control the expected horde of mosquitoes within the next few weeks. While hog growers tried to lower lagoon levels before the storm, "no one could have anticipated the levels of rain that fell in such a short period of time," Deborah Johnson, president of the North Carolina Pork Council, said in a statement Friday. The flooding also took a toll on municipal water and wastewater systems. Untreated sewage spilled into streams and rivers in Cary, Smithfield, Hillsborough, Wake Forest, Zebulon, Kenly, Goldsboro, Jacksonville and many other towns. Wastewater treatment plants in Kinston, Kenly, Wilson, Smithfield and Pine Tops were shut down at various times. Tarboro's sewer collection system was overwhelmed. In Wayne County, a dam broke and completely washed out 200 feet of sewer line, Seneca said. Just north of Wilmington, water blew out a 70-foot section of a railroad bed and flooded two old quarries used as lagoons for industrial wastewater from Occidental Chemical, a chromium chemicals factory. An unknown amount of the wastewater washed into the Northeast Cape Fear River. Occidental plant manager Gene Renzaglia said tests of the river water so far show no serious damage. "We'll work with the state, because we obviously have a water-level issue here," Renzaglia said. Copyright - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask]