GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A water advisory has been lifted for a 2-mile stretch of the South Fork Catawba River. It comes after cow manure spilled into the river, officials confirmed Wednesday.
Officials from Gaston and Lincoln counties launched the investigation after an unknown material was found floating in the river recently. It turns out that the substance was cow manure from a nearby dairy farm. Thousands of gallons of it.
Gaston County Emergency Management said it was investigating along with the hazardous material unit from the Gastonia Fire Department and Lincoln County Emergency Management. The manure was floating into Gaston County from the north, according to officials.
Lincoln County officials said the manure was coming from a broken pipe on the dairy farm that pumped it from a lagoon to various fields on the property. A tree that fell during a recent storm broke the pipe, causing the manure to spill into the river, killing hundreds of fish.
Officials are currently testing the water and it will be up to North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality to determine if the farmer will face charges. Lincoln County officials said they weren't aware of the damaged pipe until the manure was spotted in the river.
"It was not within their line of sight, so they wouldn't have naturally known it unless they went looking for it," Mark Howell with Lincoln County Emergency Management said.
The stretch of river where the manure was found is just south of the Laboratory Mill and Indian Creek.
Lincoln County government officials further confirmed Tuesday the material was spotted in Indian Creek, and that the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is now investigating. Residents south of Laboratory Mill were urged to stay out of the water. Notices were sent to nearby affected properties using a mass notification system.
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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