Manure dump in the Wilson

ZaQ · 12-21-2002, 01:26 PM

Just got back from a crappy day on the lower Wilson. The water had about 3 inches of visibility in it. And the whole place stunk to high heaven. When we were taking out at Sollie, we were told that a farmer "mistakingly" dumped quite a load of cow manure into the river early this morning, it was reported to be around Donaldson's. We drove up there after trailering the boat and sure enough, there was a remarkable difference in water clarity. The water from Donaldson's up was beautiful, down from there it was green brown and about 3-6 inches of visibility, pretty gross.
Would this guy be getting a big fine for doing this? I get one day a week to fish, make the early morning drive with a couple of buddies and than some knuckle head goes and does something like this!!! Sure ruined my day!!!!!!!!!

speyfly · 12-21-2002, 01:32 PM

ZaQ, yes he could and should be fined. It is not lawful for anyone to do this and should be turned into DEQ, ODFW and anyone else that will listen. Sheeeeeeezzzzzzz.

Jennie@ifish · 12-21-2002, 01:37 PM

Knuckle head. I love that term!
Dang, that is awful.
Now, how can someone ACCIDENTLY dump cow crap in the river???? Tell me that?

Could he have done it on purpose because of the onslaught of fishermen? No way.... please tell me it was an accident, and how that accident could occur.

Jen

ZaQ · 12-21-2002, 02:11 PM

It had to be ALOT of manure! I mean the river looked like it was coming down from flood stage and above Donaldson's it was absolutely gorgeous! I thought it was the numbskulls in the boat with me, but the smell was horrendous as well. I hope they get that guy!!!!! I want my gas money back!

Point-of-Sale Clerk · 12-21-2002, 02:17 PM

Although it would seem to be a no-brainer with regards to liability for placing or discharging animal waist into salmon bearing waters, there may be no recourse against this farmer. Unfortunately most agriculture-based farming processes are exempt from DEQ regulations regarding fecal-coliform. I believe it may depend on what the farmer was classified as, a Dairy, a Feedlot, or just a farm�

I do not like it but that may be the way it is�

To report a spill of any type call (800) 452-0311 or e-mail deq.info@deq.state.or.us

Jerry Dove · 12-21-2002, 06:09 PM

Belive me a farmer can and will be fined if caught dumping into the river or any other body of water. I find it hard to belive that this happened. But you can bet I will check and follow up on it. We have worked with the farmers and the creamery for years and have a great relationship. I will post what I find out. 99% of the farmers in Tilllamook work hard to protect the enviroment, but their is always a slob in every crowd. I can't think of any slob farmers in the area of where you say this happened. I'll let you know. Jerry

Jerry Dove · 12-21-2002, 06:35 PM

I just checked with ODFW and they had heard nothing. Called The creamery person in charge if this type of thing, he was not home but left a message. If anyone ever sees this happen you should call the dept of ag.. If all else fails call ODFW or the Tilllamook Cheese Factory. Or fell to free to call me and I will make the calls. Thanks

fishduck · 12-21-2002, 06:45 PM

Alot of farmers in the area spread "liquid" through irrigation pipes. There is room for error with the connections and such. I'm sure it was an accident and nobody intentionally dumping poop in the river. Bummer it ruined your trip though.

Anyway I guess it's like they say, "##it happens"!

blackdog · 12-21-2002, 10:48 PM

I'll second this report. Was down just below Josie's, probably around 10:00 when in the course of a half an hour the river went from great color to mud brown and no visibility. The stench was horrendous. It smelled more like raw human sewage than it did cow *hit, but whatever it was, it was powerful. I talked to a couple of guys who went through later, after noon, and the spill was gone and the river back to normal. It would be nice to see somebody pay for an "accident" like this.

Thankfully, we did find some action before this happened. :grin: Overall, it seemed like the catching was slower than reported earlier in the week. Did see ifish's Travis Moncrief get some other ifisher into one in front of a crowd in the afternoon. Anybody know about that? Seemed like the same guy got a dandy earlier in the day, too. Some guys must have all the luck.

:tongue:

WildHawg · 12-22-2002, 04:39 AM

Jerry,
Are you referring to Scott M*****n, the water tester? He loves to fish, and this would fire him up tremendously. Thanks for your help, I know you can get to the bottom of this.
As a side note, I too smelled what seemed like human sewage below Josies on thursday. I've smelled far more cow $#!t than the average guy, and it didn't smell like anything I've ever smelled. Any "Rogue" septic guys related to any Dairy Farmers?? No I'm not kidding--something foul is afoot. [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

rebell · 12-22-2002, 05:08 AM

Something was definetly up. I drove over Sollie Smith bridge at 11:00 am, the water looked ugly. Then when I launched the boat at Mills bridge it looked great. When we finally made it down to Sollie again, the water was beutifull.

Wildhawg, I know Scott M*****n well, he's a long time friend. I will put a call in to him, any more info I can get out of everybody will help here.

If anybody has any more information at all, send me an email. I know between jerry dove and myself we can find out what happend.

Jennie@ifish · 12-22-2002, 06:01 AM

Why is Scott so and so's name being blocked?

What is it? Spell it out with spaces between.

J

ZaQ · 12-22-2002, 09:01 AM

My fishing partner was surfing the net and sent me this page.
http://www.epa.gov/r5water/cwa.htm
Something definately happened over there, and I am very curious as to what it was, and what is going to happen to the person that did it. :whazzup:

Bait O' Eggs · 12-22-2002, 09:05 AM

Jen
I am pretty sure they are talking about Scott McKibben, last I heard he was still doing the water testing for the Cheesefactory.

I think they were blocking out his name on purpose. Since you asked I will write it out.

rebell · 12-22-2002, 09:29 AM

BOE, I personally blocked out Scotts name because I did not have his permission to print it here.

I have put a call into Scott and other authorities in Tllamook County. There are people looking into the issue. Im sure that we can find out whats going on, and take the steps to put a halt to it. Scott tests the water, to my knowledge he has no policing authority.

I agree with all of you. This must stop now!!!! The stench on the lower river yesterday was terrible. Anyone else that has experienced this please email me ASAP. I am also intrested in talking with anyone who might have seen this that fished earlier in the week.

Jennie@ifish · 12-22-2002, 12:31 PM

Welcome to Tillamook!
Come smell our dairy air!

Jen

rebell · 12-22-2002, 12:48 PM

Jen, The smell I experienced Sat. was unlike the usual dairy smells that long time Tillamook residences like ourselves have come to know. This had more of a septic smell to it. The sudden darkening of the river and the sudden clearing, tells me that something was out of the ordinary.

DiveR · 12-22-2002, 12:52 PM

Probably will be added to the Lancome of Paris line --
Eu de Bovine - or maybe the french term for "making a living" - whatever that is

Point-of-Sale Clerk · 12-22-2002, 01:00 PM

DiveR

Eu de rendre un vivant

rebell · 12-22-2002, 01:03 PM

Good one guy's. I can promise you that it wont sell. [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]

Jennie@ifish · 12-22-2002, 01:08 PM

I'd like to see what Jerry digs up in his investigation... Jerry?

This really isn't funny, is it?

:depressed:

Jen

brshooter · 12-22-2002, 01:46 PM

How was it today? Was the water still dark below Donaldson? How about the smell? Thinking of hitting the river tomorrow.

12-22-2002, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jennie@ifish:
I'd like to see what Jerry digs up in his investigation... Jerry?

This really isn't funny, is it?

:depressed:

Jen

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">No it isn't! Wonder if this will have any effect on the oyster beds in the bay. Does anyone know?

Jerry Dove · 12-22-2002, 04:38 PM

I talked to Rick Klumph ODFW last night. He had heard nothing, but had an idea who it might have been, if infact it was a farmer. Talked to Scot McKibbion from the TCCA tonight he will follow up. the folks tha;t i called last night have not called me back yet, they may be gone over the week end. Belive me folks we will not let this thing go. I will also call Wes Greenwood, county Sanitarian Mon. morning. If any of you are on the wilson and smell this again please call me right away. 503-842-6519-----Cell 503-812-1572 thanks Jerry

rebell · 12-22-2002, 05:37 PM

Everyone, Please let's not forget about this one. Calls have been made. Jerry is working on this, and I know he will find out whats up.

Again, if you experienced the river getting brown, and noticed the smell, email me asap. We need all the info we can get.

Thanks

Tilla · 12-22-2002, 11:17 PM

On Thursday the water was in good shape all the way to Sollie. But the strong stench beame apparent about and below Donaldsons. A couple of guys in a driftboat mentioned it too as they went past by the Maple tree hole. The smell reminded me of the difference between Skunk smell and Skunk smell real real close! :shocked: The close in experience is like a dagger in your nostrils. [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]
This smell on the Wilson was like the close in experience. Ack!

Steve · 12-23-2002, 01:46 PM

Not wanting to condone the dumping in the river of unwanted manure, I doubt that making life miserable for the farmer will endear him to continue to allow bank anglers access. This can snowball into a lose / lose situation. If I were the farmer I would have 2,000 feet of uninterupted fishing shoreline to myself. We need to come up with alternatives... Steve

Jennie@ifish · 12-23-2002, 02:08 PM

Ummm... I may be totally out of line here, but if someone dumps manure in the river and kills fish, I'd rather save the fish then have a spot on his bank.
Just my opinion, but.... that's what came to my mind.

Jen

snowball · 12-23-2002, 02:09 PM

is it possible that the fish stories being told on the river that day just continued to grow and grow? Sounds to me like it was really getting deep--

Lets all hope it was manure and not human waste entering the system--
sounds to me like it may have been pig manure... which in comparison to cow, is more pungent and distinct..
can't say ol snowball doesn't know his crap--

Gun Rod Bow · 12-23-2002, 02:49 PM

Jennie and all,

This should be checked and prosecuted. Animal waste from dairies being dumped into ditches and flowing into the Skagit River in WA has resulted in some huge penalties there. No other industry can get away with it. Agribusiness should not be exempt! And I come from a ranching family.

I hope someone asks these same questions about the Nestucca. Ever notice that above Farner Ck there are lots of native cutthroats, and below very few. Notice also the difference in foam in the riffles high and low. You can smeel the waste in the river, it really starts right below 1st bridge and gets worse as you go. I've been on the 3-Rivers to Cloverdale drift when those dairies are running what looks like a giant rainbird (farmers call them a "sh*t gun") to spray the "barn water" from the storage lagoon onto the fields. Problem was it was raining hard and you could see what was obviously liquid animal waste running out of the fields into the river. [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]

This page is a great place to keep stirring this pot and let state officials know that we are aware of the problem.

GRB

Bait O' Eggs · 12-23-2002, 02:54 PM

I would think with some testing in the back eddies and such along the river they could find enough evidence to track it back to somebody. I am sure there has to still be quite a bit of evidence left to collect.

Who ever dumped it shouldnt be free to post his bank from trespassing.

I know there is a mink farm or 2 in the area, how pungent is mink droppings? Plenty of dairy farms on both sides of the river. Usually a herd of elk hanging out in the field right there. Any other possible species that might have needed some Imodium AD in the area.

I would guess a rouge dumping of a septic tank, or maybe a cleaning of the dairy holding manure tanks.

I would guess Jerry has turned the heat up on somebody by now by asking around. How about it Squire, who is gonna walk the plank?

rebell · 12-23-2002, 03:07 PM

steve, from what I experienced, and noticed that Sat. on the water, there is and never was any bank access in that area. Besides, what went on Sat. was totally out of hand.

I must let everyone know, that this is just more than a fish issue here. My family lives down river, my son, my dogs, and myself all play in, and use the lower Wilson often. If this was intentional, I will do everything the law allows to make sure it never happens again!!!!!!!! The way I see it, It is a matter of life and death!

riverrat · 12-23-2002, 03:51 PM

i certainally hope that this was not "intentional".....the pumps used to feed the big irrigation guns are capable of pumping in excess of 500gpm...by the sounds of the "spill" thousands of gallons were introduced to the wilson, in an isolated area, within a specific amount of time, perhaps an hour....times 500gpm would have caused a 30,000 gallon spill......you can do your own calculations to the amount of contaminants that entered the river, but no matter the number a whole lot of --it hit the river.....so if a local farmer had a break in his irrigation line there would have been a period of time when he first discovered the leakage and the time it would take to respond and shut down the pumping system....lets get the facts first, put safety factors in place so these type of incidents will not happen again, then prosecute the offenders

rebell · 12-23-2002, 04:07 PM

riverrat, I can promise you that things will be handled properly. I personally know all the dairy farmers on the north side of the river. I cant for a minute believe that any of them would purposly dump waste in to the river.

But like I said, this was a different smell and river color than I have seen in the past. I grew up in Tillamook, I worked on dairies all through school, and raised beef for FFA projects. This was something I have never seen before.

Something was definetly WRONG!

Jerry Dove · 12-23-2002, 07:03 PM

First ;. no more mink farms left in Tillamook. To bad because they make great crab bait. Now to the problem. Wes Greenwood County sanitarian walked both sides of the river today and found no sign of septic problems. All the other agencys are checking on the situation. Belive me it has got a lot of attention. Fingers are pointing in a direction, but can not say where at this time. I will keep all informed. We had every TV station in town today on the bodys found up wilson, should have brought then into this.

DiveR · 12-23-2002, 08:04 PM

Jerry
Thanks so much for your hard work and for keeping everyone informed. The system does work and you are proving it.
Bernie

ZaQ · 12-23-2002, 08:28 PM

Yes, thank you so VERY much. I want to know what becomes of this...............I am going to try to redeem myself tomorrow.

rebell · 12-24-2002, 05:01 AM

Jerry, Thanks for all your help and hard work. We all cant thank you enough. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

justdave · 12-24-2002, 07:44 AM

Looking to keep this post toward the top. Thanks to all working the issue. One only needs to take a look at the Tualatin as it goes under I-5 and then venture above Cherry Grove to the upper reaches to see what devastation can be caused. And to think the mighty T is much cleaner than it used to be? It took years of abuse, but it has to get started somewhere.

Just Dave

Bait O' Eggs · 12-24-2002, 07:54 AM

Jerry I dont care what everybody says about you, I think you are alright

:tongue:

I didnt know the mink farm was not still in operation. :depressed:

operation "find the phantom pooper" is still underway

Are you guys who experienced this, sure it wasnt another boater dumping some oil based paint trying to foul somebodies anchor line

[ 12-24-2002, 08:56 AM: Message edited by: Bait O' Eggs ]

Slow Roll · 12-24-2002, 08:10 AM

I don't know if this is something that is recommended but if any of us come across this condition again, would it be wise to dip a sample of the water and keep it for testing?

I always have ziplocks with me and it would'nt be a problem to take some water. Although I would definetly be for washing my hands well when I got done.

Paul B.

Jerry Dove · 12-24-2002, 11:34 PM

Had a call this morning from William "Wym" Matthews, Livestock Water Quality Spec. with the Dept. of Agruculture. He has been checking, and had found nothing yet. He is going to try to get permission to go on farms in the area and check for problems. He also has some thoughts on who. He gave me permission to post his name and number,so if you ever see a problem call him right away. Wym Matthews-503-842-6278---Cell 503-801-1630. He said he is going to be watching the area very close, and on weekends. Folks please rember this is not what most farmers in Tillamook County do. They do every thing in their power to keep it clean. I am on the commission for the Port of Tillamook Bay and we are starting a manure composting plant and a manure digester to make methane gas. This will help the problem a lot. Merry Christmas. Jerry

Jerry Dove · 12-24-2002, 11:36 PM

Sure take a sample. And then call the number I posted. Jerry

ssteelheadsteve · 12-24-2002, 11:49 PM

You guys really make me feel old.
This has been going on since the 60's that I know of. Most of the incidents I can remember happened in June, July and early October. Mostly at times when I was the only boat on the river due to extreme low water conditions. This is not a NEW thing. I have observed this water condition on the Trask and Nestucca. Usually goes away in about an hour.But what a terrible hour it can be. Smell is so bad it could make a Marine Corps Drill Serg. puke.

[ 12-25-2002, 12:55 AM: Message edited by: ssteelheadsteve ]

Jerry Dove · 12-26-2002, 07:03 PM

I got another call this morning from one of the agencys,. they are still on it and still looking at one spot. they will keep me informed. Even the county Commissioners are looking at it.

ZaQ · 12-26-2002, 07:44 PM

Thanks so much Jerry, it is good to see that this is not being dropped.

Fish'nDude · 01-10-2003, 08:40 AM

Any update on this incident?
Just wondering what happened to the investigation.

Barviewrocks · 01-10-2003, 09:01 AM

I have not fished the Wilson tidewater for a while. However, there used to be a place lower than the 101 bridge on the Wilson that we called the "Milk Hole" It had white stuff trickling into the river. I always thought it somehow attracted the fish. Does anyone know where or what the white stuff was?

GoFish · 01-10-2003, 09:05 AM

Milk

Trick · 01-10-2003, 10:28 AM

Imagine, Tillamook, dairy farms, crap and milk in the water.

I've got to get some of that Maries milk scent. Ya' think the bait shop has any?

Miss B Haven · 01-10-2003, 10:54 AM

Ha... a "manure digester" huh? I 've tried to get quite a few of those going down there over the years. Not sure how sucessful I was though. :whazzup:

Hey you there, ya you snagger "EAT S*%T and DIE" ! :shocked: :grin: