The pretty little town of Manderson sits at the confluence of the Nowood River and the Big Horn River in southern Big Horn County. Recently, it has come to light that Manderson, picturesque though it may be, has a problem. Twenty houses within the city limits have septic tanks that lack leach fields. Raw sewage from these houses dribbles out from septic tanks through a perforated pipe and flows into a storm sewer that empties directly into the Nowood River, about 1/4 mile above its confluence with the Big Horn River.

The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) investigated the problem this past summer, but has yet to initiate any enforcement action, despite this blatant violation of the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act and the federal Clean Water Act. Curiously, even though the agency’s investigation began in June, 2003, the DEQ still lists the cause of the fecal coliform pollution as “undetermined” in its preliminary draft report on impaired rivers for 2004.

In October, WOC published a list of the five most impaired rivers in Wyoming. As we noted in our press release, the Big Horn River is polluted with fecal coliform for quite a distance, beginning at Manderson and extending for 20 miles or more downstream.

Manderson resident Janet Reasoner contacted WOC after she saw a Casper Star-Tribune article on the subject, and noted the larger issues posed by Manderson’s raw-sewage discharge for the Big Horn Valley. “This area has a lot of tourism-related business,” she wrote, “and having sewage flowing into the river can’t help those folks at all. Plus, a lot of children spend time in the river, especially in the summer.”

While Manderson’s raw-sewage discharge may not be the only pollution problem that the Big Horn River faces, it is certainly one that can be fixed. Because this discharge is occurring within city limits, the town of Manderson is responsible for the sewage, and must address the problem. The town needs to pump or truck the sewage to a treatment plant, or at least into a leach field that can handle the sewage until a more permanent resolution to the problem can be devised.

Public awareness of similar water-pollution problems is an important key to their solution. Vigilance is needed to keep our rivers fishable, swimmable and clean. Citizens need to demand that their county health departments be proactive when any fecal coliform pollution is found in rivers and streams, especially when it persists over time.

If you boat, fish or swim, keep a sharp eye out for pollution entering streams and rivers, and if you find it, contact the DEQ at (307) 777-7781 about what you have seen. For a list of Wyoming streams polluted by fecal coliform and other pollutants, go to DEQ’s web site.

If your favorite river or stream is listed as polluted and is hazardous to human health, insist that your county health department post warning signs and prohibit swimming. Finally, if you have any questions or concerns, give us a call at WOC. We’re here to help.