Outdoor pigs and flooding: an English case study

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Abstract
The number of outdoor pigs has increased greatly in England over the last two decades. It is known that runoff and soil erosion are likely to occur in such fields; however, the off‐field impacts of runoff have not been addressed. A group of properties adjacent to fields of outdoor pigs near Culford, Suffolk, England was flooded at frequent intervals in 1998 and 1999. The factors that may have caused the flooding are examined. The floods were initiated and exacerbated because the soils in the fields were trampled by pigs and rutted by tractors, severely restricting the rates at which rain could infiltrate the soil, thereby promoting runoff. The runoff carried sediment, faeces and pathogens. To a home owner such flooding, or a high risk of flooding, is unacceptable. The results of a claim in the County Court arising from the floods are briefly described.

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