PEOSTA, Iowa – On Monday, March 25, DNR environmental specialists and fisheries staff began investigating a fish kill caused by manure runoff in Dubuque County.
Investigators traced the manure runoff to Lawler Dairy in Peosta. The owners of the dairy farm applied liquid manure to a nearby field, and due to snow melt and rainfall, the manure ran into a nearby ravine and through a tile intake, into an unnamed tributary located along Graff Road north of Peosta. The manure runoff has reportedly killed 238 fish. The unnamed tributary runs into the Little Maquoketa River.
Enforcement actions are pending against Lawler Dairy following this investigation.