As a first step toward cutting back on odor from the University of Illinois South Farms, the campus has announced a plan to connect its Swine Research Center lagoon to a sanitary-sewer system. The connection to the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District will eliminate the surface discharge of liquid waste from the facilities lagoon. The goal is to be connected late in 1999. It's our goal to be a good neighbor with respect to siting and operating our livestock research facilities.
Additional steps planned include adding aerators to the manure lagoons on the South Farms.
Aerators increase the amount of oxygen on the surface layers of the lagoons and help to reduce odors. Also scheduled for fall 1999 is the removal of manure sludge from the Moorman Swine Research and Swine Research Center lagoons to increase storage capacity. The design and layout of the facilities are also antiquated, increasing maintenance and labor costs. After considering the age, condition, location, and size of these facilities, the university decided that the best alternative was to replace and relocate them. ACES views the South Farms facilities as vital to its educational and research missions.