Fish Kill Event - Unnamed Tributary to Paint Creek
SE of Waukon
- Event ID
- 999
- Date of Kill
- 7/20/2020
- Waterbody Type
- River/Stream
- Cause Origin
- Anthropogenic
- Cause
- Wastewater
- Mode
- Discharge
- Magnitude
- 2 (101 - 1000 fish killed)
- Estimated Fish Killed
- 151
- Kill Length
- 1.00 miles
- Valuation
- $15.87
- Investigation Expenses
- $958.45
- County
- Allamakee
- ESD Field Office
- FO 1
- Fisheries Office
- Decorah State Hatchery
- LongDD
- -91.45575
- LatDD
- 43.25329
- Created Date
- 8/10/2020 1:41:58 PM
- Last Update
- 2/28/2024 10:47:39 AM
Highlighted river segments indicate those impacted in part or whole by this fish kill event. It is not meant to represent the actual extent of the kill.
Fisheries contacted by local resident July 20. Staff began determination of kill extent. Effluent from the wastewater treatment plant extended an additional 2.4 miles below the end of the kill zone and into the main stem of Paint Creek. The water cleared enough for the team to begin fish counts by 3:57pm. Staff counted and measured all dead fish over a one-mile distance to the source. Went back to kill area on 7/21/2020 to make sure they found the true end of the kill due to poor water clarity day of investigation and impact of the effluent after entering Paint Creek. The effluent from the sewage treatment plant traveled/affected an additional 2.4 miles downstream of kill area.
According to Manchester ESD, the Waukon Wastewater Treatment Plant reported that Aveeka Nutra Processing spilled 76,000 pounds of yeast, which would normally go into a lagoon then to the head of the wastewater treatment plant. However, the lagoon pump failed after a power loss, allowing the untreated yeast from Aveeka to go directly into the creek. The influx of yeast overwhelmed the treatment plant’s capacity causing an ongoing release of partially treated wastewater. It is unclear how much material went directly into the creek and how much got diverted.