Iowa DNR officials have identified the source of a manure spill of a waterway that feeds into the North Raccoon River in Greene County.

According to the DNR, the manure that was found in an unnamed tributary to the North Raccoon River came from the Crosman Land and Livestock confinement facility that is north of the unincorporated town of Cooper. On August 21st an unknown amount of manure from the confinement’s earthen manure storage basin was found to be in a Greene County drainage tile in Drainage District 37B. 

During excavation around the site, an abandoned clay tile was found. An engineer was hired by the facility to identify how the manure entered the abandoned line and to permanently fix the issue. Since then, crews have pumped and land applied about 450,000 gallons of manure-laden water from the waterway. A large bern was then installed to upgradient of the pumping activities and the county drainage tile was flushed with water. Once the creek and tile lines are clean, the applicators will pump out and land apply manure from the basin. All residents have allowed crews to access their property to flush the tile. 

As the DNR continues its investigation, ammonia concentration levels are decreasing in the tile lines and streams, along with berms to prevent manure from reaching the North Raccoon River. Following the clean up efforts, the DNR will consider appropriate enforcement actions. Raccoon Valley Radio will bring you more information as it becomes official.