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Sewage and drought trigger Chattahoochee River fish kill
Days after a massive wildlife die-off in the Chattahoochee River, environmental investigators report that oxygen levels in the water are starting to recover.
ATLANTA - Days after a massive fish kill in the Chattahoochee River, the riverkeeper says oxygen levels in the water are recovering, but it is too early to know exactly what remediation will look like.
What we know:
The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper confirmed that a drop in water oxygen levels caused a massive, unprecedented fish kill impacting at least 20 miles of the river.
Investigators determined that a number of different contributing factors, such as drought, sewage overflow and polluted runoff combined to create the deadly aquatic environment.
What they're saying:
"We have these magnified impacts here in Atlanta because of our river system being so small," Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Executive Director Jason Ulseth said. "When this event happened, all of the volume of stormwater and combined sewage that made its way into the river was significantly larger in volume than the water that was in the river itself."
Fisherman Fabian Reyes said he saw what seemed like 100 dead fish in a three-hour span a few days ago. On Memorial Day, he said he reeled in a couple of fish before releasing them back into the river.
"The dissolved oxygen levels completely crashed at certain parts of the river," Ulseth said. "They are recovering now, but the damage is done."
People who walked along the river in Cobb County said they saw pollution in the current.
"Definitely seen a lot of human trash, that's unusual," Robert Ellison said. "Plastic products — not water bottles, but maybe buckets moving fast with the water."
Ulseth said it is too early to know exactly what remediation for the river could look like.
"Nature will take care of the dead fish," he said. "We're advising people to stay away from the stretch of river from Peachtree Creek down to West Point Lake at this time, until we get higher flows and more rain to flush the system through."
What's next:
The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management said local and state officials have launched their own investigations into the fish kill.
The Riverkeeper said they will be meeting with officials on Thursday to discuss the event and potential next steps.
RELATED:
- What is a fish kill? Why thousands of fish suffocated in Chattahoochee River
- Sewage overflows, drought, heavy runoff blamed for massive Chattahoochee River fish kill
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper as well as first-hand reports from river visitors. Additional information comes from prior FOX 5 reporting.