In Liutang Town, Liucheng County, Liuzhou City, Guangxi, the villagers of Sanjie Village in Guli Tun were shocked to find their long relied-upon source of drinking water, a natural spring, suddenly turned murky and emitted a strong stench of pig manure overnight. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the source of contamination directly pointed to the upstream Weizhongping breeding farm. This incident not only led to symptoms such as diarrhea and headaches among villagers after consuming the polluted water but also exposed the long-standing environmental violations at the farm, sparking deep concerns among villagers about future water safety and demanding the relocation of the farm.
According to a report by Hongxing News on June 14th, calls made to the publicly listed phone number of Weizhongping breeding farm on Tianyancha were left unanswered.
Tun Chief Maosongming explained that the spring water in the village had been a primary source for drinking and domestic use, maintaining a consistent quality throughout the year. However, on the night of April 11th, around 10 p.m., villagers noticed a change in the water quality near the water collection point. By the next morning, when Maosongming and villagers inspected it, the spring water had turned black and emitted a fishy and intense pig manure smell.
Maosongming disclosed that about 1.7 kilometers upstream from the water source, the Weizhongping breeding farm had an uncovered pit without leakage prevention measures. Upon inspection on April 11th, a substantial amount of manure water was found in the pit. It was speculated that the fecal contamination seeped into the ground from the uncovered manure pit, affecting the water source of Guli Tun village downstream.
Following the contamination, some villagers, on the night of May 1st, resorted to drinking the polluted spring water as there were no bottled water available, resulting in symptoms of diarrhea and headaches. On May 2nd, Guli Tun organized vehicles to transport the unwell villagers to the central hospital in Liutang Town for medical treatment. Medical records indicated that several villagers from Guli Tun were diagnosed with gastrointestinal infections after admitting to consuming contaminated water.
Confirmation of the contamination source: Collapse of the breeding farm’s solidification pit, leading to direct discharge of manure into an uncovered pit.
According to the investigation by the Liuzhou Liucheng Ecology and Environment Bureau, the manure from Weizhongping breeding farm was supposed to undergo treatment in a solid-liquid separation machine before entering a manure storage pit covered with anti-seepage black film. However, due to the collapse of the farm’s solidification pit on February 15th without timely repair, coupled with a malfunction of the solid-liquid separator, livestock manure was discharged directly into an unprotected uncovered pit used for water storage. The overflow of sewage in the pit occurred on the day of the incident due to rainwater accumulation.
Official reports further confirmed that among the four manure storage pits located northwest of Weizhongping breeding farm, one was an uncovered pit without leak prevention measures. Partially fermented manure leaked from this uncovered pit, contaminating the surrounding soil and directly affecting the groundwater. Additionally, the absorption land around the farm, lacking proper irrigation, had accumulated a large amount of manure.
Information from Tianyancha indicated that Weizhongping breeding farm was established in 2021. Maosongming, the chief of Guli Tun, stated that although there had been occasional fluctuations in water quality in the village since the farm’s operation began, the situation had never been as severe as in this instance, and villagers had not previously connected it directly to the breeding farm. He mentioned that there were no live pigs in the farm on April 11th (all sold), but around April 28th, a new batch of piglets was reintroduced for breeding.
In the aftermath of the incident and with the contamination source still not completely identified, authorities had coordinated with Weizhongping breeding farm and another farm upstream of the water source to supply water to the village. However, villagers remained skeptical about the water quality provided by Weizhongping breeding farm. On April 18th, villagers took matters into their own hands by cleaning the water tower and pipelines and continued using the contaminated spring water for domestic purposes.
A notification from the Liuzhou Ecology and Environment Bureau stated that as of May 23rd, all live pigs at Weizhongping breeding farm had been removed, and it was currently in a vacant state.
Nevertheless, Maosongming expressed concerns that due to the complex geological conditions around Weizhongping breeding farm, which includes karst topography, the risk of contamination still lingered, and he strongly urged for the comprehensive relocation of the farm to ensure the long-term water safety of the village.