North Carolina milk spill is creating a lot of crying!

We often think of oil spills or other hazardous materials creating damaging effects on our streams and fisheries.  For Cove Creek in Saluda, North Carolina, spilled milk has created a huge local environmental issue.   As the milk breaks down it robs the water of oxygen needed for fish to survive.  The fish have started dying off and are now decomposing on the shoreline.  Sadly, this creates additional issues in the hot summer temperatures.  Not only are the fish dying they are creating a stench in the air.  Hopefully, this spill will not effect native fish, especially trout, which are a revenue source for local residents.

“As kids, we learned not to cry over spilt milk. But crying may be warranted in this case. According to FoxCarolina, the thousands of gallons of milk that have spilled into Cove Creek around Saluda, N.C. has killed unknown numbers of trout and other wildlife.”

“Landon Davidson with the N.C. Division of Water Resources Regional says the tanker spilled over 6,000 gallons of ran milk into the roadway and into nearby Cove Creek.”

“Davidson said once the milk begins to degrade, it removes oxygen from the water which in turn endangers fish and other aquatic life.”

“The game warden said a good amount of trout were found dead and floating down stream. He said depending on the number of fish that die, they may need to stock the creek, which is costly.”

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