An Iowa family of seven has been displaced after they found five inches of animal blood in their basement. And that wasn't all. Bones and animal fat were in the bloody muck that covered the floor of the Lestina family's basement in the small central Iowa town of Bagley.

Homeowner Nick Lestina claims the awful combination came from Dahl's Custom Meat Locker next door. Lestina says the plant's ownership changed about a year ago and even though his family has lived in the house for a decade, they hadn't had major issues before. If not for a sump pump in the basement, Lestina says things would've been even worse.

Lestina told WHO,

They haven't reached out at all. In fact, they haven't taken any accountability for it. They say it's not their fault and told me 'good luck.' If I want to do anything about it, it's on my dime and my schedule.

I wouldn't really wish this on anybody, but all I can do is keep moving forward and try to take care of the problem.

I'm looking into thousands of dollars with cleanup, over $2,000 just to sanitize the basement. I don't have thousands of dollars to throw away at this.

 

Kevin Wilken, an environmental specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the plant's owner butchered hogs and cattle on October 3 and flushed the blood down a drain in the floor. The owner of the locker believes the drainage went into a tile, which is probably connected to the floor drain of the home next door.

Wilken says,

The meat locker from my standpoint has been pretty cooperative. They have worked with me to come up with a permanent solution so the animal blood, fat and all that stuff is no longer discarded down those floor drains.

The Iowa DNR has told the locker to immediately stop discharge until a solution is developed. Meanwhile, the Lestina family says they'll press charges against the locker if they don't answer the family's call for assistance.

WARNING: If you have a weak stomach, you may not want to watch this video.

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