By STEVE EIGHINGER

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

AUGUSTA, Ill. -- Steve Vestal knew something was wrong Monday afternoon.

Vestal was hunting on property he and three friends own in northeast Adams County when he noticed some small amounts of a "dark, murky" substance in some of the Cedar Creek water, about 200 yards from the High Power Pork sow farm.

A couple of hours later, at about 5 p.m., Vestal was winding up his hunting for the day and heard a sound like "gushing water."

"It sounded like a gushing, Rocky Mountain stream," he said.

Only it was not anything close to that. Not by a longshot.

"Then I started to smell this stench," Vestal said.

What Vestal had come across was the early stages of a 90,000-gallon manure spill from the nearby sow farm that was making its way toward Cedar Creek. The spill was oozing across a portion of the 160-acre site owned by Vestal, Steve Bradshaw, Bob Collison and John Quinones. Their land sits southeast and adjacent to the High Power Park facility, which is about six miles south of Augusta.

Vestal, Bradshaw and Collison are all from Quincy and nearby areas. Quinones is from Canton, Ill. Their property is used strictly for personal hunting, fishing, four-wheeling and other recreational activities.

Bradshaw said he was disheartened when he found out about the spill.

"We hunt turkey, deer ... we fish there ... it was heartbreaking," he said. "I walked up through there (Wednesday night) and saw dead fish along the creek, which is a tributary to the La Moine River."

It appears the outcome of the spill could have been far worse. Representatives from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Adams County spent Wednesday at the site and all reports look to be positive.

John Simon, director of the Adams County Emergency Management Agency, said the major portion of the clean-up operation had finished by Wednesday evening.

Simon said all pumping/ flushing and other heavy equipment had left the area, a dam-like structure on Cedar Creek had been taken down and officials from both the IEPA and IDNR were pleased with what had been done by High Power Pork crews to fix the problem and clean up the affected areas.

"(The IEPA) still has to complete its environmental investigation, but both (the IEPA and IDNR) praised the fast reactions by landowners and the High Power Pork facility," Simon said.

Simon said the IDNR will be monitoring the fish kill and similar issues, but that agency's officials indicated the problem appeared to be "minimal."

An underground sewer line had become dislodged at the 6,000-sow High Power Pork facility, causing the problem.

Vestal said he went up to the sow farm shortly after discovering the severity of the issue around 5 p.m. Monday, but could not find anyone there or a number posted to call in case of emergency. He contacted Bradshaw, who had a phone number for Carthage Veterinary Services, which oversees much of the operation at High Power Pork.

By around 7 p.m., the sow farm had crews beginning work on containing and cleaning up the spill.

Bill Hollis of Carthage Veterinary Services said Wednesday night the dislodged sewer line had been repaired and that all pumping and flushing of Cedar Creek had been completed.

Hollis also said the IEPA would be issuing a report concerning contamination levels in the area. Simon said there was no precise timetable about when to expect such a report.

Vestal and Bradshaw said they appreciated the swiftness of the clean-up operation, but hope this isn't the first of more problems with High Power Pork, which opened seven months ago. The facility raises pigs that are shipped to farms across the Midwest.

"We're watching with a cautious eye," Bradshaw said. "We want (High Power Pork) to be a good neighbor."

-- seighinger@whig.com/221-3377