Quebec to deal with manure in tap water

MONTREAL, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The Quebec provincial government will oversee clean-up of a rural manure spill that contaminated a man's well near Montreal, The Gazette reported.

Retired farmer Duncan MacKiddie notified authorities on Feb. 11 his tap water was running brown and stinking in the town of St. Philippe d'Argenteuil, about 35 miles northwest of Montreal.

He said he could see a stream of manure running from a holding tank on an adjacent property, but the municipality told him he was responsible for clean-up costs, the newspaper said.

"They say it's a private well on private property," he told the Gazette. "But I didn't cause the spill."

He complained to the provincial Environment Department, and Tuesday an official said a plan was being worked out to resolve the situation, but wouldn't divulge details, the report said.

A day after MacKiddie complained to the municipality, police discovered a marijuana grow-operation on the adjacent farm, which hadn't been worked for the past two years, the Gazette said.