SPENCER – The DNR is investigating a fish kill running about 20 miles along Stoney Creek northwest of Spencer.
The fish kill was reported north of Everly Monday morning, but residents in the area said they’d been seeing dead fish over the weekend.
Two crews from the Spencer field office found heavy concentrations of dead fish west of Fostoria, then traced dead fish northwest to the Osceola-Dickinson county line, about 11 miles west of Milford.
So far, DNR staff has not identified the pollutant source, but believe it is from fertilizer or animal manure because of elevated ammonia levels found just west of Spencer.
“We’ve had a number of calls into the field office, mostly from people concerned about watering their cattle from the creek,” said Ken Hessenius, supervisor of the DNR Spencer field office.
“We may or may not be able to track down the source of this fish kill, because it likely occurred several days ago,” he added. “If people would remember to call the field offices or the 24-hour spill line as soon as they see something that would increase our chance of finding the pollutant source.”
The DNR spill number is 515-725-8694.
Dead fish are mainly minnows and chubs, but include some larger fish. Hessenius said the pollutant slug has likely moved into the Ocheyedan River, become diluted and passed through Spencer by now.
The DNR will continue to look for the source of the pollutant.
In another investigation, the Spencer field office looked for the source of a second, but smaller, fish kill near Meridan in Cherokee County. A fisherman reported hundreds of dead chubs and minnows Saturday morning.
However, testing results from Bear Creek on Monday showed relatively good water quality with high levels of dissolved oxygen and low levels of ammonia. DNR specialists were unable to identify a pollutant source, but speculate that something may have washed into the stream following a 1-inch rainfall over the weekend.