Holstebro municipality closed manure pollution case without evidence

Holstebro Municipality closed an investigation into a stream polluted with liquid manure after taking no photographs or water samples at the scene, DR News reports. The case ended without consequences because there was insufficient evidence to identify those responsible.

Kennet Brask was alerted on a Friday evening after a nearby stream, normally clear, had turned grey. He went to the stream and saw dark grey water flowing into Venø Bay, a bay in the Limfjord.

“The water was completely grey, anthracite grey, and it smelled strongly of liquid manure,” said Brask, an enthusiastic angler who is deeply concerned about the condition of local streams and rivers.

He contacted the North-West Jutland Fire and Rescue Service, whose personnel arrived and observed the same pollution. They estimated that around 1,000 litres of liquid manure had entered the stream.

Holstebro Municipality later arrived at the site but did not take photographs, video or water samples. It also did not locate or document the source of the pollution, according to documents obtained by DR News through a freedom of information request.

“We could have taken photographs and a water sample on Friday evening, but we assessed that it would be just as good, in fact better, to do it on Monday, when it was light and we could get an overview,” said Ole Lousdal, team leader for nature and the environment at Holstebro Municipality.

The incident took place on Friday, March 6. Vestforsyning supplied an inflatable plug that was placed in a drainage pipe to stop the pollution. The municipality therefore assessed that the immediate pollution had ended.

When three municipal employees returned on Monday, March 9, they took numerous photographs. The water had become clear again.

“The plug placed by the emergency services apparently did not have the desired effect. The water ran clear over the weekend, which meant that we were unable to take a water sample,” Lousdal said. He added that the municipality had investigated a possible source to help prevent a recurrence.

Brask was frustrated that the municipality had not secured evidence, comparing the situation to a traffic accident.

“If the person responsible for the accident is extremely drunk, they are not allowed to come back five days later to have a blood sample taken,” he said.

Brask took his own samples from the drainage pipe and farther downstream, near the stream’s outlet. He kept them in a refrigerator before handing them to the municipality, which sent them for analysis.

The samples had been collected incorrectly and could not be used as official documentation. However, the laboratory found high levels of organic matter, phosphorus and nitrogen, together with a high pH value, indicating liquid manure.

The municipality closed the case on March 11, five days after the report. It was reopened two days later after Brask submitted his samples.

Documents show that the municipality contacted the farmer whose fields were located near the drainage pipe and urged him to watch for possible damage to the pipes.

Lousdal said the municipality had carried out the necessary work, although it had not established the cause of the pollution or assigned responsibility.

“The most important thing is to ensure that it does not happen again, regardless of who is responsible,” he said. “We did not find the cause, but the municipality carried out the tasks that were necessary.”

Brask said the pollution should not be dismissed as insignificant.

“When there is pollution of our environment, we have to take it seriously,” he said.