The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is waiting for a report to find out the severity of a manure spill earlier this month in northeastern Wisconsin.
Hochkammer Dairy, 6 miles south of Manitowoc, was deemed responsible for the August 7 spill. The DNR and Manitowoc County have investigated the spill, but haven’t said how much manure went into Pine Creek, which feeds into Lake Michigan, because they’re waiting for a completed report.
DNR spokesman Ed Culhane said the farm has until Sept. 20 to complete a report, “that will detail exactly how the release occurred, how it happened, how much manure was released, what actions were taken to stop the leak or that spill, and what actions were taken to clean up.”
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Culhane said Hochkammer paid a contractor to pump out manure and to construct berms to keep the flow from getting into Lake Michigan.
He said testing done by Manitowoc County so far indicates no contamination has entered the lake.
“There was some testing by the county out along the lakeshore and those tests came up negative,” Culhane said. “So I think as far we know the affected waterway was the stream (Pine Creek) itself.”
Culhane said the spill or leak killed small “forage fish,” such as minnows, which are food for game fish such as bass. Pine Creek isn’t a prime spot for anglers.
Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties are part of the Karst geology, which is known for porous rock and shallow groundwater. Many private landowners blame large dairy farms for contaminating their wells.
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