CASCO (NBC 26) — After a manure hauler struck a pickup truck in the intersection between County Roads C and K on Tuesday, the Wisconsin DNR says approximately 5,000 to 6,000 gallons of manure spilled into a nearby ditch.
"The discharge in the ditch was next to wetlands, which were impacted," Wisconsin DNR hydrogeologist Cody Heinze said. "Vac trucks were brought out and recovered all of the discharged material."
Heinze also tells NBC 26 groundwater near the accident is safe to drink.
"This would have been a surface build," Heinze said about the accident. "It was recovered on the same day, within hours. We wouldn't anticipate any groundwater impacts from an event like this."
WATCH MIHIR SINHASAN'S FULL STORY:
But several neighbors in Casco— including village president Chad Cochart— say they are not convinced.
"By the time you got there and got your equipment set up and people responded to it, you really think you got it?" Cochart said in response to the DNR telling NBC 26 that all of the manure had been recovered. "I guarantee you, there was something that got into that wetland that they didn't get cleaned up."
The village has long-struggled with high nitrate levels in its drinking water.
NBC 26 interviewed Cochart in January after manure runoff in the village went into a stream that feeds into Rio Creek.
"It's very frustrating," Cochart said about once again dealing with high nitrate problems. "The people get tired of this. They're constantly being told, 'you got to test your well.' They get tired of test, test, test and seeing no results."
The Kewaunee County Sheriff's Office says the pickup truck driver in Tuesday's crash, identified as 80-year-old Garry Richard, was taken off life support Wednesday morning. But he is still alive.
