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NW Iowa manure spill affects local creek

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 30th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

KINGSLEY, IA – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources report a manure spill from a sow facility in Plymouth County Tuesday afternoon, reached a small creek about four miles northwest of Kingsley. The spill, which occurred over the weekend, came from the Kingsley Sow Facility, managed by Dave Wittry.

Authorities don’t know how much manure spilled. The unnamed stream has low flows, is very small and there were no fish in it. DNR staff found low dissolved oxygen levels in the stream, but no evidence that the manure had reached Johns Creek about one mile downstream.

Wittry reported that most of the manure was captured by a berm near the facility. He will pump manure from the tributary and land apply it. The DNR will continue to monitor the cleanup progress and consider appropriate enforcement action.