DNR monitoring manure spill near Athens

Late Thursday evening, Jan. 15, 2026, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was notified manure was discharging from a livestock site into a tributary to Black Creek. The spill occurred while the farm was actively transferring manure between waste storage facilities when the transfer system failed, resulting in manure being released from the transfer line. The volume released is unknown at this time.
The livestock site is located on Creekview Rd. in Athens and is owned and operated by Deercreek Holsteins LLC, a permitted Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO).
DNR staff are on-site and working closely with Marathon County Department of Conservation, Planning and Zoning to monitor the situation, and the farm is actively cleaning up the discharge.