Manure Spill Kills Fish in NE Iowa Creek

A manure spill as well as the discovery of dead fish in a Northeast Iowa creek, is under investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR was notified at about 8pm Thursday (April 23) that approximately 2,000 gallons of manure was released in rural Mitchell County, after a hose broke as the manure was being applied to land, about 3 miles southeast of Stacyville.
The manure flowed downhill to a nearby creek, which is a tributary of the Little Cedar River.

Area residents in Mitchell County found dying and stressed fish in the creek; the fish kill was confirmed by the Iowa DNR, in a short stretch of the creek above the dam.
Employees of the sow facility, as well as land application crews, dammed the creek Thursday night; that manure as well as creek water was then applied to the nearby land.

Ammonia levels in the creek dropped back to normal by Friday afternoon; the dam that crews constructed to catch the manure, was then dismantled; there was no evidence that contaminants reached the Little Cedar River.

Staff at the local fisheries counted the dead fish; the DNR will determine any enforcement action.