Discharged secretly?

Mystery surrounding stream that is once again said to be full of slurry

The brown trace (left) shows where the dirty water was discharged and how it was distributed by the current.(Bild: Nicole Greiderer)

A clearly visible brown trace in the Brandenberger Ache in Kramsach in the Tyrolean district of Kufstein is raising environmental concerns among local residents. The suspicion: a farmer is allegedly regularly discharging liquid manure into the watercourse. The "Krone" followed the brown trail, and it turned out that it is not actually completely "clean".

A dark brown stripe runs dozens of meters through the Brandenberger Ache. "Slurry has been discharged here," worries one "Krone" reader. This always happens at night and neighbors have also noticed the smell. The suspected culprit: a farm next to the stream.

An open secret
According to various sources, it is said to be an open secret in Kramsach that liquid manure keeps flowing into the Ache from there. "It's been happening once or twice a year for years," complains the informant, "but nothing ever comes out."

The police and authorities have confirmed that several reports have already been made. Tyrol's deputy environmental lawyer Walter Tschon has also been aware of the case for some time. In general, around ten cases of prohibited liquid manure spreading are reported to the Tyrolean Environmental Ombudsman's Office every year. "For the most part, farmers comply with the regulations, but there are black sheep."

We always receive reports on this topic. We handle them anonymously. We rely on good photographic material for proceedings.

Walter Tschon, stellvertretender Tiroler Umweltanwalt

Clarity only after repeated inquiries
In the current case in Kramsach, the Kufstein district authority initiated criminal proceedings, including a site inspection and water analysis. The final result, according to the authorities: "A slurry discharge could not be proven."

The "Krone" had to follow up several times to find out more details. According to the report, "surface water" was discharged from the farm into the Ache in the current case. "This water comes into contact with soil, manure and other organic material and is discharged into the Brandenberger Ache during agricultural activities and precipitation," explains the authority. "This pollutes the water and regularly enriches it with nutrients."

According to the investigation, the "brown stuff" in the water is algae. There can be various reasons why they form.(Bild: Nicole Greiderer, Krone KREATIV)

Suspicion about the real reason for brown coloration
The result: brown algae form, causing the bottom of the Ache to turn dark. According to Walter Tschon, such algae can also, but not only, be caused by liquid manure. In the case of Kramsach, the algae formation is, according to the authorities, "very likely due to the discharge of water and the pollution of the embankment".

But even without liquid manure, the discharge means pollution for the Ache. To ensure that the surface water from his farm can no longer enter the stream in future, the BH is now imposing technical and structural measures on the polluter. According to "Krone" information, not for the first time.