(Sibley)– The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says manure is the most likely cause of a large fish kill earlier this week in Otter Creek in Osceola county.
DNR officials say a concerned citizen notified them of the fish kill Tuesday evening. Hundreds of dead suckers, chubs and carp were found in a stretch of the creek near Highway nine northwest of Sibley.
Testing found ammonia levels of 40 parts per million in that area of the stream…10 times the amount deemed lethal for fish.
Ken Hessenius of the DNR’s regional office in Spencer says manure from confinements and open feedlots in that area was likely washed into the stream or a tile line by a recent rain event. Hessenius says tracking the source of the runoff may be difficult since tile lines can run several miles from a field to a stream.
Officials say the water was so toxic fish were literally jumping out of the stream.
DNR fisheries staff is currently conducting a count of the dead fish.
