Published: Friday, June 29, 2007
High aquatic toll from spill into creek tributary
ASHLEY, Ohio (AP) — Runoff of an ingredient used in livestock feed into a tributary of Alum Creek killed 40,000 to 50,000 fish and other aquatic animals, a wildlife investigator said Thursday.
An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 gallons of whey, a dairy byproduct, spilled into a field drainage system that dumps into the west branch of Alum Creek, said Ken Fitz, a district law enforcement supervisor with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The spill happened last week.
The whey dissolved oxygen in a several-mile stretch of the tributary, killing fish and at least 3,000 crawfish near this town about 30 miles north of Columbus, according to investigators.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
More Stories from Mon, Jul 2, 2007
