We don't have cities and state offices out here testing our water all the time, telling us if our water is okay, fit to drink. The Colorado Department of Health says other big hog farms have also over-applied manure and groundwater contamination is a real threat. The problem is that groundwater pollution takes years to show up. That's why the Jarretts are campaigning for stricter monitoring. You have to put some common sense in this.
Hogs produce two to four times the waste of a human.
Five thousand hogs is equivalent to a city of ten thousand. You know darned good and well any city has to have a waste management plant. The Jarretts are not alone in their concern. This summer environmental groups and family farmers teamed up to collect 100,000 signatures for Amendment 14, a ballot measure that would further regulate the hog industry. Amendment 14 requires big operators to get a state permit, limit odors, perform pollution tests, and post a bond in case any pollution is found.