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Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River #12843602 07/27/18 03:50 AM
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Came across this the other day while fishing, always sad to see this kind of thing. Everything in this stretch of river was dead, sunfish, shad, bass, crappie, all species of catfish, carp, buffalo, drum, etc. Saw a couple of really nice carp and buffalo (20+!) and some good size cats as well (30+). What a shame.



The water was a sickly brown color, hardly any visibility and it gave off a disgusting smell, even accounting for the rotting fish.























Catch and release. The dream - to catch one of every species of Freshwater fish in our great state! If only I can resist Carp...
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
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Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12843603 07/27/18 03:50 AM
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The last remnants of life, struggling amongst the dead.



Probably a grand total of a little over a dozen fish left in this stretch.



Nice sized Flathead





Nice sized Drum







Catch and release. The dream - to catch one of every species of Freshwater fish in our great state! If only I can resist Carp...
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
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Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12843604 07/27/18 03:50 AM
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Catch and release. The dream - to catch one of every species of Freshwater fish in our great state! If only I can resist Carp...
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
[Linked Image]
Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12843608 07/27/18 03:53 AM
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Now, I did call and report this to the fish kill/spill service in Austin, but was waiting to see if any news organizations reported on it. So far, I haven't seen a single story. It tears me up knowing that the few spills/sewage leaks we do hear about are probably but a fraction of what is really occurring.

For those curious, the lady in Austin gave me a phone number and a case number to call and check back on it. Here they are:
1-800-792-1112 ext 8165
Case #20180116

I also have a few other photos that I didn't put up here contained in this album: https://imgur.com/a/YdiWih1

Last edited by TXMulti-Species; 07/27/18 03:55 AM.

Catch and release. The dream - to catch one of every species of Freshwater fish in our great state! If only I can resist Carp...
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
[Linked Image]
Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12843621 07/27/18 04:08 AM
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On a lighter note, I was able to go downstream a bit and moved a couple of fish upstream of the spill. They likely wouldn't have made it otherwise. Nabbed two new species in the process!



Finally got that Flathead! Hopefully one day he'll become a giant!



Not quite sure what this was, but it's definitely new! I got five of 'em.

Also moved 2 bass, a handful of channel catfish, about a dozen carp, quite a few shad/sunfish, and a white crappie. Saw a koi as well but just couldn't get him.

Last edited by TXMulti-Species; 07/27/18 04:09 AM.

Catch and release. The dream - to catch one of every species of Freshwater fish in our great state! If only I can resist Carp...
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
[Linked Image]
Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12843869 07/27/18 01:41 PM
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Are u sure it was a sewage spill, i mean its likely as it happens more then some want to believe.

Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12843890 07/27/18 01:50 PM
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With this heat and temperature it is likely that was caused by natural circumstances. Oxygen level goes down as heat rises. River flow is low, river is also very fertile. If flow stops algae bloom can cause this.


http://www.texasmegafishadventures.com
Guided rod and reel fishing trips for Alligator gar on the Trinity River as well as some other places
903-721-4296
dawson@texasmegafishadventures.com
Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: Droyhef] #12844160 07/27/18 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted By: Dawson Hefner
With this heat and temperature it is likely that was caused by natural circumstances. Oxygen level goes down as heat rises. River flow is low, river is also very fertile. If flow stops algae bloom can cause this.


Not sure it was sewage per se, but definitely a spill of some sort. The lady on the phone even confirmed it. There was some waste leaking from a pipe into the river for some time. I actually saw where it first started, there's a discharge just below/to the side of the spillway, and the water there was the same about a week ago before it rained. All of the fish in that discharge pool were dead, but I thought it was just the heat as well until it rained and whatever was in that pool moved downriver, killing all of the fish there.

In this particular stretch of river, the flow is hardly ever present unless there is a good rain. There are isolated pools both above and below where the spill occurred, most much smaller than the area pictured. You'd think if it was an oxygen deprivation thing, that all of the smaller pools would've gone first as they'd heat up a lot faster, right?


Catch and release. The dream - to catch one of every species of Freshwater fish in our great state! If only I can resist Carp...
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
[Linked Image]
Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12844179 07/27/18 05:23 PM
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Pictures not showing up on my computer for some reason. Which spillway/part of the elm fork? I am assuming this is below Frazier?

Eric

Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: erittmueller] #12844225 07/27/18 05:55 PM
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Originally Posted By: erittmueller
Pictures not showing up on my computer for some reason. Which spillway/part of the elm fork? I am assuming this is below Frazier?

Eric


Harry Hines Spillway


Purple - Spillway
Yellow - Discharge, original site of spill
Red - Location of fish kill pictured

3250'29.42" N 9653'23.03" W - Spillway
3250'25.70" N 9653'27.39" W - Discharge
3250'4.72" N 9653'21.86" W - Fish Kill

You could try going into my Imgur album to take a look at the photos, it should work for ya.
https://imgur.com/a/YdiWih1

Last edited by TXMulti-Species; 07/27/18 05:57 PM.

Catch and release. The dream - to catch one of every species of Freshwater fish in our great state! If only I can resist Carp...
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
[Linked Image]
Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12844236 07/27/18 06:05 PM
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Diagnosing the cause of fish kills is tricky. Most of the time, oxygen depletion is what ultimately kills the fish but the oxygen depletion may only be one factor in the big picture. In this case, it could be toxic pollution directly harming the fish, or the pollutant may have only been harmful to algae which caused a bloom collapse and subsequent oxygen depletion. It's also not uncommon for the dominant "algae's" growing this time of year to be potentially toxic cyanobacteria so a bloom crash from pollution would produce the triple whammy of oxygen depletion, toxin release from the dead cyanobacteria and whatever effects the pollution had directly on the fish all rolled in together. Without being on the scene as the kill is happening and running tests immediately, it can be hard to determine exactly what triggered the kill. Hopefully one of the agencies will investigate it properly and find the real source of the problem.


Scott Jones
Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: Droyhef] #12844253 07/27/18 06:19 PM
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Originally Posted By: Dawson Hefner
With this heat and temperature it is likely that was caused by natural circumstances. Oxygen level goes down as heat rises. River flow is low, river is also very fertile. If flow stops algae bloom can cause this.


That's what I was thinking.


But for the OP, the state will send out a Game Warden and probably a biologist to have a look. The biologist may likely collect some samples. But it will take a little time to get results. There may also be an investigation underway.

Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12844282 07/27/18 06:57 PM
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If there is an investigation they aren't going to tell you until it is complete. It's been overcast several days this week,that was one of the contributing factors to a number of fish kills on Fairfield and several other lakes in years past. Hopefully they do find out if this a pollution event.


http://www.texasmegafishadventures.com
Guided rod and reel fishing trips for Alligator gar on the Trinity River as well as some other places
903-721-4296
dawson@texasmegafishadventures.com
Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12844989 07/28/18 04:21 AM
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Hopefully they figure it out. Seeing all of those fish that could have potentially been on the end of my line ticks me off, and I'm somewhat hoping it was pollution just so I have someone to shake my fist at other than God.

Last edited by TXMulti-Species; 07/28/18 04:21 AM.

Catch and release. The dream - to catch one of every species of Freshwater fish in our great state! If only I can resist Carp...
https://txmultispecies.imgur.com/
[Linked Image]
Re: Fish Kill due to Waste/Sewage Spill on Elm Fork, Trinity River [Re: TXMulti-Species] #12846789 07/30/18 02:04 PM
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That's terrible, went to a local creek to nab some sunnies saturday, only to find them floating dead by the hundreds, majority of them 7 to 9 inch range


If it's legal ain't no way in hell it's catch and release, it's CATCH & GREASE, except ROUGH (TRASH) Fish
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