Heavy rain from Hurricane Florence has caused some 57 manure lagoons in North Carolina to flood, overflow, or suffer structural damage — an increase of 14 in a single day, said the state Department of Environmental Quality on Thursday. The North Carolina Highway Patrol advised against travel in the southeastern part of the state, where the water is expected to continue rising for at least three more days.
The floods could release millions of gallons of animal waste from manure lagoons, the man-made ponds that hold manure on large-scale livestock farms. In North Carolina, lagoons are used mainly on hog farms. Untreated manure would pose a public health threat, as would sewage from flooded treatment plants and the chemicals and other substances that have been flushed from inundated homes and businesses.
In its daily report, the DEQ said six lagoons had sustained structural damage, 21 were flooded, and 30 had overflowed. In addition, 40 lagoons were full to the brim and likely to overflow, and 35 were within 3 inches of overflowing. The North Carolina Pork Council said two lagoons were breached and a third was believed to have a breach, the most serious type of damage because it causes the contents to drain out of the lagoon.
Hurricane Florence has killed twice as many hogs, chickens, and turkeys as Hurricane Matthew did in 2016. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd killed 21,474 hogs, flooded 55 lagoons, and breached six lagoons.