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Wayne Community College students got an education on the Neuse last week.

Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop visited the Goldsboro school to introduce students to their waterways.

“This was a great group of students who are interested in how they can use science and community-led data collection to advocate for our waterways,” Samantha said. “We talked about issues that affect the Neuse River, including land-use changes and sediment pollution and bacteria contamination from sewer spills.”

Samantha also discussed the White Oak Farms biogas spill that happened two years ago, when a biogas digester cover ruptured and spilled millions of gallons of foam comprised of decomposing hog waste, expired deli meats and hog carcasses onto the surrounding land. Some of the waste seeped into Nahunta Swamp, and continued to pollute swamp waters more than a year later. The facility has since been decommissioned.

“One great question that came out of the discussion was why our state does not have funding set aside to clean up CAFO spills when they occur,” Samantha said. “This is something the students were very concerned about, and expressed interest in advocating to change in the future. Overall, the students had fantastic questions, and were eager to lend their hands to support our water-quality sampling and advocacy efforts.”

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