Intensive pig-farming in Hungary and Romania: Heavy pollution of the groundwaters covered by a bureaucratic scheme

A cross-border investigation done by Atlatszo and Context.ro shows that large bodies of groundwater in Romania and Hungary are polluted by industrial pig farming. While companies that run industrial pig farms and local environmental agencies allege they protect water and soil from damage, official reports say otherwise. We visited 10 pig farms to learn how the environment is protected; we analyzed hundreds of documents and conducted dozens of interviews, and found that pig farms are the ones that check whether they pollute. The result: on paper, the environment is protected; on the ground, the water is contaminated with dangerous chemicals.

Hungary and Romania produce, on average, between 300-400 thousand tons of pork meat per year In the 2000s, Hungary’s pork meat sector averaged about 5 million pigs, while after 25 years it dropped to almost half of what it was. While the overall gross number of pigs shrank, the concentration of production increased.

Atlatszo.hu and Context.ro reporters gathered documents, conducted interviews, and visited more than 10 areas where industrial pig farming is practiced in Hungary and Romania. Csongrád-Csanád county in Hungary and Timis county in Romania are two hotspots for large-scale farms.

A review of a large farm in Bátaszék(Csongrád-Csanád county) illustrates the scale: around 6,000 pigs are kept there, and the slurry system includes an insulated storage basin with a capacity of 12,150 cubic meters. Manure is spread on agricultural land only under soil-protection authorization, because its nitrogen and phosphorus content can pollute soil and groundwater if poorly managed. Our reporting did not find that this specific pig farm was a polluter.

However, two studies show a direct link between large-scale farms and nitrate pollution. In one study, data showed that nitrate leaching was linked to both precipitation and pig manure or fertilizer use. A separate long-term groundwater study in the Great Hungarian Plain found severe nitrate pollution in shallow groundwater, with pre-sewerage nitrate concentrations exceeding the 50 mg/l limit in most monitoring wells. Its authors also found that nitrate-chloride ratios pointed to anthropogenic sources, including septic tank effluent and extensive manure use. Our investigations show that similar patterns recur across the border in Romania.

The loophole in the system: just 700 euros in fines

Local public authorities in Romania and Hungary are ensuring that waste disposal is regulated, and their data show the same pattern: a low number of breaches. There is one critical aspect: the pig farms are the ones who determine whether they pollute, and the civil servants just check the paperwork.

The Csongrád-Csanád County Government Office says manure storage can be authorized only in technically protected facilities, and water authorities may require groundwater monitoring systems; the use of slurry on farmland must be reported to the soil-protection authority. Each year, the county officials receive 10-15 complaints, and according to the Csongrád-Csanád Government Office those are investigated, but in the past five years none have been rendered a serious environmental crime.

However, most of the monitoring is done by the intensive livestock farms. They are the ones taking samples of the used water, and they keep records of the manure disposal on the fields, while the authorities simply check the self-made reports of the farms when coming in the annual inspections. In the past five years, the national Hungarian authority imposed only one fine of 700 euros in 2024 for operating in a manner that differed from the integrated environmental permit.

Continue and read the full story in English at Context.ro

Authors: Attila Biro, Oana Manitiu, Matei Capotă – Context.ro, Csaba Segesvári – Átlátszó; This investigation was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe. Hungarian version of this story.