SUTHERLAND – Approximately 2,500 fish were killed along nearly two miles of Barry Creek following a manure spill Thursday afternoon northeast of Sutherland in O’Brien County.
The fish killed were smaller species including minnows, shiners, stonerollers and chubs. Live fish were also observed in the stream.
The spill occurred Thursday afternoon when a hose broke from manure being transferred between two tanks at a hog operation owned by Doug Streit. An estimated 5,000 gallons of liquid manure was spilled, but Streit quickly stopped the manure release and dammed an area above the creek to contain the remaining spilled manure.
By Friday afternoon, the manure had been cleaned up at the site. A pump was used to reduce the amount of manure in the stream. It does not appear that the manure spill adversely impacted Waterman Creek downstream.
The DNR is continuing to monitor the incident and will take appropriate enforcement action.