PLEASANT HILL - A fish kill that began in Camp Creek east of Pleasant Hill and about five miles north of Runnells in Polk County appears to be limited to less than five miles of Camp Creek, DNR investigators said today.
“We don’t think it reached the Des Moines River and our staff have not seen any dead fish in the river,” said Ted Petersen, supervisor of the DNR’s south-central field office.
The spill occurred when a 250-gallon tote of fungicide fell off a Landus Cooperative vehicle Monday afternoon near the intersection of state Highways 163 and 316. An estimated 180 gallons were released when the tote tumbled into the ditch.
Workers from Landus pumped up almost 2,000 gallons of water and product from the ditch Monday afternoon with ongoing recovery efforts today.
DNR staff have seen mainly dead minnows and chubs downstream of the spill site.
The DNR will monitor cleanup efforts and consider appropriate enforcement action.