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Wells testing positive for E. coli bacteria

Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

TOWN OF MORRISON — The Morrison Town Board will hold a special meeting Tuesday to consider a ban on spreading liquid manure on frozen ground anywhere in the township until April 15.

At least 17 wells in the Brown County township, in the vicinity of Wayside, have tested positive for E. coli and coliform bacteria in the past few weeks. The problem was first noticed after several local residents noticed a manure smell in their well water.

Tuesday's meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Morrison Town Hall, 3792 Park Road. There will be a presentation by representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Brown County Health Department and the Brown County Land Conservation Department.

The town of Morrison has karst typography, which includes sinkholes and cracked bedrock that can enable pollution to enter the aquifer. In the Wayside area, an investigator has found three improperly abandoned wells that never were capped, and could allow liquid manure go directly into groundwater.

The state's Manure Management Task Force, which wrapped up its work in January, recommended that winter spreading should be prohibited on fields where there is a risk of surface water or groundwater contamination.

Summer spreading is seldom a problem because the soil isn't frozen and the manure soaks into the soil.