KEWAUNEE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Kewaunee County property owner is worried about what is under the snow in his yard, and the possibility of it melting into a nearby river as the weather warms up.
Arlin Karnopp sent FOX 11 pictures he took in February of a large pool of brown water standing in his yard. It has since frozen and is packed under a layer of snow.
While Karnopp says it’s manure runoff, the farmer in question says it’s something else. The DNR says it has been investigating what is in Karnopp’s yard and is working with all the parties involved in a possible solution.
“Those pictures say a thousand words when you see the pictures of what was laying here, what’s underneath the snow,” said Karnopp.
Karnopp tells FOX 11 he’s scared to see the snow melt away this week. He says the brown pool of water will end up in the nearby East Twin River if it’s not taken care of.
“The East Twin River has got so much pollution in it and there definitely is a reason.”
In 2015, Karnopp’s well was among one-third of Kewaunee County wells that tested positive for unsafe levels of nitrates and bacteria.
“I’m just sickened by it all already. Who would want to buy a home that has a bad well and now our grandkids can’t even play in the front yard because of all the manure.”
Karnopp’s home is below a hill that Rolling Hills Dairy Farm spreads manure on top of.
The co-owner of Rolling Hills, Scott Gaedtke, tells FOX 11…
“We do not haul liquid manure there because something could happen. That is a very steep hill. It could happen, so we do not put any liquid on that hill, that whole ridge there.”.
Gaedtke said all DNR rules and regulations were followed when bedded pack manure was spread on his family’s field late last year.
“We put this on in November, December and there was no problems and all of a sudden in February they are saying there was runoff”
The DNR says samples were taken from the yard, but a spokesperson for the agency could not share what tests found. “Any idea what that could be?”
FOX 11 asked Gaedtke…
“I don’t know. If it’s brown water, it’s ground. Ground is coming down the hill. It’s just washing out.”
Gaedtke said he will continue to monitor the situation with the DNR, but wants to see what the test results show before taking part in any cleanup.
A spokesperson for the DNR said not much can be done for cleanup until the weather warms up. Karnopp says the DNR offered to have a backhoe come in and clean the mess up, but he is concerned that would damage his yard.
