Up to 7,500 gallons of spilled milk enters Middle Nodaway River

FONTANELLE — As many as 7,500 gallons of milk entered the Middle Nodaway River Sunday when a tanker hauling milk east of Fontanelle wrecked Sunday evening.

According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which investigated the accident, Wisconsin-based Zimmerman Transport, the tanker’s owner, had removed the almost empty tanker by the time DNR investigators arrived on the scene Monday.

Milk was found in a road ditch along Iowa Highway 92, flowing through a culvert into an unnamed tributary, according to the DNR report. From there the milk ran about 1.3 miles into the Middle Nodaway River, creating a visible plume for about 50 yards downstream.

“Because of its high organic content, milk can cause fish kills in streams,” said DNR Senior Environmental Specialist Dan Olson. “Oxygen levels in the stream drop as bacteria breaks down the milk. When milk concentrations are high, the resulting oxygen sag can kill fish and other aquatic organisms like crawdads and insect larvae.”

Zimmerman Transport brought a vacuum truck to the site Monday to recover pooled milk from the ditch, but high flows in the stream prevented recovery downstream, Olson said. He said it is unknown how much milk reached the river or how much remains in the tanker, but the tanker could have been carrying 7,500 gallons.

Visibility in the tributary was limited Monday, so DNR field staff are inspecting the stream Tuesday to determine effects on aquatic life, Olson said. The DNR will continue to investigate and will consider appropriate enforcement action, he said.

The Fontanelle Volunteer Fire Department, Greenfield Volunteer Fire Department, Adair County Sheriff’s office and the Adair/Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator responded to the accident Sunday night.