North Dakota State University officials reported today that a temporary pump moving manure from the university dairy barn malfunctioned over the weekend sending discharge into a drainage ditch on the west side of Hector International Airport.
A dairy barn worker who discovered the situation called in Jet-Way Industrial Cleaning Services which began the clean up process at 6 am on July 26. Greg Lardy, head of NDSU’s Animal Science Department said the North Dakota Health Department was notified immediately.
“State health department officials will be on site tomorrow and we will assist them with their investigation,” said Lardy.
Lardy said this is the first time an incident like this has occurred. The temporary pump was installed after the main pump had malfunctioned. Manure from the dairy barn is regularly pumped into a designated lagoon along the railroad tracks on 19th Ave. North.