A spill of dairy wastewater has killed several hundred Fish in the Shades Creek at Homewood, Alabama, close to West Homewood Park, on Monday 19 October 2015. The comprised about 380 liters of wastewater from the Mayfield Creamery, which turned the creek a cloudy white as well as killing fish. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management placed booms across the creek to stop the spill from spreading, then vacuumed up as much polluted water as possible. No chemicals hazardous to human health are thought to have entered the water.
Dead fish in the Shades Creek at Homewood Alabama following the 19 October dairy wastewater spill. David Butler/AL.com.
While dairy products are not an obvious source harm to aquatic life, they provide a source of nutrients which can lead to eutrophication and the rapid growth of blooms of Algae, Bacteria or other micro-organisms, which absorb oxygen from the water leading Fish to asphyxiate.
The approximate location of the 19 October 2015 Homewood dairy wastewater spill. Google Maps.
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