blake
Life Member
From The Iowa DNR:
Pocahontas County Fish Kill Traced to Small Hog Operation
FONDA – The DNR is investigating a fish kill on Big Cedar Creek about seven miles northeast of Fonda in western Pocahontas County.
County officials reported the fish kill to the DNR Monday morning after finding brown water that smelled of manure. They also found dead carp and minnows in the stream.
When DNR staff arrived Monday afternoon, they found high levels of ammonia in the stream and traced the source to an underground tile line. They followed the tile line to the Grant Wells farm. Wells, of rural Varina, owns a small hog confinement nursery and uses an earthen basin to store manure.
The DNR is actively investigating how manure reached the tile line, so that future pollution can be prevented. DNR fisheries staff has just arrived to conduct a fish kill count, initially finding dead fish for about five miles downstream.
DNR environmental specialists will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate enforcement action.
It’s important for anyone seeing a fish kill or pollution event to report it as soon as possible using the state’s 24-hour spill line at 515-281-8694. The more quickly they report it, the faster the DNR can find the pollution source and help stop it.
Pocahontas County Fish Kill Traced to Small Hog Operation
FONDA – The DNR is investigating a fish kill on Big Cedar Creek about seven miles northeast of Fonda in western Pocahontas County.
County officials reported the fish kill to the DNR Monday morning after finding brown water that smelled of manure. They also found dead carp and minnows in the stream.
When DNR staff arrived Monday afternoon, they found high levels of ammonia in the stream and traced the source to an underground tile line. They followed the tile line to the Grant Wells farm. Wells, of rural Varina, owns a small hog confinement nursery and uses an earthen basin to store manure.
The DNR is actively investigating how manure reached the tile line, so that future pollution can be prevented. DNR fisheries staff has just arrived to conduct a fish kill count, initially finding dead fish for about five miles downstream.
DNR environmental specialists will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate enforcement action.
It’s important for anyone seeing a fish kill or pollution event to report it as soon as possible using the state’s 24-hour spill line at 515-281-8694. The more quickly they report it, the faster the DNR can find the pollution source and help stop it.