Discharge from a cheese factory created a small environmental disaster in western New York, killing thousands of fish and other aquatic wildlife.
What's happening?
Great Lakes Cheese discharged what the state Department of Environmental Conservation called "visible effluent discharges and odors" from "organic waste" into Ischua Creek in Franklinville, Cattaraugus County, according to Syracuse.com.
"Ischua Creek is a vibrant, healthy ecosystem, and the environmental damage witnessed this week is significant," DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton told the outlet.
Authorities reported "multiple types of dead aquatic species," and tens of thousands of those species were adversely affected by "the die-off."
The public has been warned to avoid all contact with the waterway, including fishing, boating, and swimming, until further notice.
At the time the report was published, there was no indication that local drinking water had been impacted by the runoff.
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Why is toxic runoff concerning?
Toxic runoff from companies and industries can take many forms, sometimes resulting from accidents and sometimes due to sheer negligence.
Most runoff associated with the agricultural and dairy industry originates from farmlands where milk-producing animals are raised and fed.
Runoff from manure and fertilizer can pollute waterways and contribute to dangerous imbalances, such as harmful algal blooms, which occur when an excess of nutrients saturates the water, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
When fish die off due to algal blooms, the situation can escalate to create additional hazards for humans.
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Majorly 😥 Increased bacterial growth poses a significant risk to human health, as it can cause illness in individuals who consume water or seafood from contaminated waterways.
What's being done about this toxic runoff?
The DEC is requiring Great Lakes Cheese to change its monitoring of "effluent exceedances from its wastewater treatment process, to improve the quality of the facility's digester operations," per Syracuse.com.
The department will also continue to collect data and monitor the spill's impact on the creek.
Water is vital to all life on Earth, and it's crucial to protect it from pollutants as much as possible. That's why it's important to hold businesses accountable and report companies that flout environmental regulations.
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