Sutherland, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has completed its initial investigation into the effects of a manure spill this past week.
The DNR says approximately 2,500 fish were killed along nearly two miles of Barry Creek following the manure spill, which happened Thursday afternoon northeast of Sutherland in O’Brien County.
They say the fish killed were smaller species including minnows, shiners, stonerollers and chubs. Live fish were also observed in the stream.
The spill occurred when a hose broke while manure was being transferred between two tanks at a hog operation owned by Doug Streit, according to the DNR. They say an estimated 5,000 gallons of liquid manure was spilled, but Streit quickly stopped the manure release and dammed an area above the creek to contain the remaining spilled manure.
By Friday afternoon, the manure had been cleaned up at the site. A pump was used to reduce the amount of manure in the stream. It does not appear that the manure spill adversely impacted Waterman Creek downstream, say DNR officials.
The DNR says they are continuing to monitor the incident and will take appropriate enforcement action.
