Manure spill threatens Northern Iowa creek

Work is underway in northern Iowa’s Winnebago County to try and prevent environmental damage from a manure spill Tuesday. Scott Wilson of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the manure spilled from a storage unit on a 33-hundred head hog confinment facility north of Fertile and flowed into a field. Wilson says the manure than got into a tile line and made its way to Beaver Creek.He says they went downstream yesterday and put in a dike to hold back the manure. He says they started pumping the manure out of the stream yesterday, kept pumping all night, and will continue pumping throughout today. Wilson says they’ll keep working at the site about three miles upstream from Fertile until the D-N-R is sure the danger is passed. He says they’ll have them keep pumping until the water is acceptably clean. He says they’ll have to get the water pretty clean. Wilson surveyed the creek and said he did not see any dead fish, but he says the experts are now on the scene. He says the D-N-R fisheries staff is now on the site and they’re going to take a closer look to see if the creek has been impacted. The hog confinement is owned by David Peterson of Lake Mills.