Environment
Two million liters of liquid manure spilled into the sea
A farmer with helpers tries to remove the manure from his field that leaked from a defective tank. photo
© Christoph Reichwein/dpa
Huge amounts of manure poured out of a container onto a farm field – and into the Hardenberger Bach. Streams well filled with water could have prevented worse.
Around two million liters of liquid manure leaked from a defective tank at a farm in Velbert near Wuppertal. A large part of it flowed into the Hardenberger Bach and then further via the Deilbach to the Baldeneysee in Essen, said the spokeswoman for the Mettmann district, DanielaWärmemann, on Tuesday on request.
So far, eight dead fish have been discovered. It cannot be ruled out that there will be more. The city of Mettmann has triggered an environmental alarm. The smell of the liquid manure was noticed until after Essen. The WDR had first reported on the incident.
The accident happened on Monday evening. “The wave is over now,” said district spokeswomanWärmemann on Tuesday afternoon. According to the first findings, the liquid manure discharge should not have had any effect on the drinking water. There are wells along the flow path, but they are so deep that they are not affected.
The cause is said to have been a defective seal on the liquid manure tank, which holds 2,000 cubic meters. The affected farmer was able to collect some of the liquid manure in containers in the evening, saidWärmemann. The Düsseldorf district government and the Rheinisch-Bergischer Wasserverband were informed. Experts examined the damage since morning. In the upper area of the affected route there are liquid manure deposits that would be sucked off, said the spokeswoman. However, since the streams were currently carrying a lot of water, most of the liquid manure continued to flow.