Within a cooperative, a hose broke at the base of a 30% nitrogenous fertiliser tank, causing 400 m³ of solution to pour out into a retention basin 2 m high containing a total of 9 reservoirs, one of which was floating on the surface and mobile. One of the basin walls failed (due to either shock or hydrostatic pressure) and 380 m³ of fertiliser dispersed into an adjoining field. The soils, water table and then the ORNAIN River, running 400 m below the field, were all polluted. Several local towns and villages had their drinking water supply cut for a few days until a suitable resource substitution could come on line; 500 kg of dead fish were recovered and a fish farm operating downstream was threatened. Pollution cleanup efforts were initiated, with the recently-filled tanks being connected to one another and then drained by means of siphoning.