Posted Apr. 13, 2005

Fecal material contaminates 6 town wells

Lark residents point to area farm; DNR investigating

By Ed Byrne
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

MORRISON — Bob Bonness knew he had a problem when the well water from the tap in his home started running brown and smelled of manure.

Last week, laboratory tests confirmed that the water was contaminated with fecal material and was unsafe to use.

Now Bonness, 3795 Lark Road, has a new well and he is looking for answers.

So is the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

DNR wastewater specialist David Bougie, who focuses on agriculture runoff, confirmed that he and DNR drinking water specialist Gary Paplham are both involved in investigating the contamination problems in the Lark area.

“I really can’t talk about the investigation,” Bougie said. “I am looking at (land) surface activities.”

Bonness first contacted the DNR in late March with his concerns. He sent samples of his well water to a private testing lab.

“They said that the well water was unsafe to drink,” Bonness said. “Right away we stopped using it. It was so foul you couldn’t even wash your hands in it, let alone take a shower with it.”

A neighbor across the street had his well go bad, too.

Now that family showers at the YMCA in Green Bay and brings in bottled water for drinking and cooking.

If there is comfort in companionship, then at least Bonness has that, because now a total of six wells in the Lark area have come up with the same symptoms.

All are in the area of the Lark crossroads or to the north.

The concern that more wells in the area could be affected drew about 50 people to the Morrison Town Board meeting on Monday night.

Also present was Lewis Anderson, who runs a 7,000-calf livestock farm — Calf Source — at the corner of Cooperstown Road and Pleasant View Road.

Several people said they think that Calf Source, which spreads manure on 2,000 acres of nearby farm fields, is the reason that wells in the area are contaminated. People also blamed the spreading of manure on frozen fields.

Anderson said his operation follows the rules when spreading manure on farm fields.

Anderson asked Lark residents not to point fingers but said he was “sorry for the inconvenience.”

He said some runoff can occur when manure is spread on a farm field.

The contaminated well at the Bonness home was 160 feet deep with 40 feet of casing, so Bonness figures the fecal contamination is down at least 40 feet already. Bonness doesn’t have the bill yet, but he had to have a new well drilled. He said that it goes down 262 feet with 168 feet of casing.

Bonness wants the town of Morrison to take action to prevent more problems.

“An ordinance to say how much manure could be spread on a field, how often, and that it gets worked into the fields sooner,” Bonness said.

Bonness also wants to make sure that Calf Source does not increase its herd size.

“Three years ago, the town board rejected an attempt to put a moratorium on large farms,” town chairman Todd Christensen said. “That left us wide open.”

Christensen said that the matter could not be decided at Monday night’s meeting.

Christensen said he would ask that a group of five people meet to look into the situation: Bonness, Anderson, town supervisor Ron Lemke, Bougie and Town Zoning Administrator Joy Koomen.

Ed Byrne is the editor of the Post-Gazette in Wrightstown.

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