Pumps that push water from a quarry at Hercules Cement in Stockertown into the Bushkill Creek failed overnight after a lightning strike, causing the waterway to dry up in Tatamy and killing thousands of fish in the prized trout stream, officials say.
Tatamy Mayor Chris Moren said he woke up Friday morning, saw the creek wasn’t flowing and called the company. He said he was told that a lightning strike about midnight shut off the pumps that feed the Class A Wild Trout Fishery. The company never tells Tatamy when it’s had a problem, Moren said. The borough only learns about issues by looking at the creek, he said. The company couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Members of the Forks of the Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited were out not long after dawn, chapter President Joe Baylog said just before noon.
About that time, water flow was returning to the stream, Baylog said. It will likely take the rest of the day to fill the stream and associated sinkholes to the level of day ago, he added.
Thousands of fish, including many trout born this spring, were killed June 5, 2020, in Tatamy after a lightning strike caused pumps to fail at Hercules Cement in Stockertown and the Bushkill Creek, a Class A Wild Trout Fishery, quickly drained, officials say.Tony Rhodin | For lehighvalleylive.com
But it will take years for the fish population to recover, he said. It has been about three years since the last incident and the trout population had been up this year, he said. The fish in that stretch are never stocked, leading to the special designation, he said. They are born and grow up in the creek, he said.
The habitat is excellent for trout between Tatamy and Stockertown, the hardest hit part of the fish kill, Baylog said.
Many of the trout that were born early in spring perished and larger fish that were able to find standing pools of water died because the 12-hour duration of the event led to a lack of oxygen and the water got too warm -- about 70 degrees -- as the day stretched on, Baylog said.
“That’s a long time to ask a fish to hang out,” he said.
With numerous sinkholes between the plant and Tatamy, once the water flow was cut off, the creek quickly drained, he said. There was more water closer to Easton because it is spring-fed nearer the city, Baylog said.
Thousands of fish were killed June 5, 2020, in Tatamy after a lightning strike caused pumps to fail at Hercules Cement in Stockertown and the Bushkill Creek, a Class A Wild Trout Fishery, quickly drained, officials say.Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com
But since there are a number of dams along the creek, trout that are downstream can’t repopulate the portion that was hardest hit, he said.
Baylog has been with the chapter for more than 20 years and this is the worst fish kill he remembers along this stretch, he said.
The company pumps about 60 million gallons of water each day from the quarry near its mining operation into the creek, Baylog said. That’s about the amount of water the city of Pittsburgh uses in a day, he said by way of comparison.
But there is only one electrical line running to the pumps, so when it fails, they stop, he said.
The chapter used to have a better relationship with the company, but that ended after Italian company Buzzi Unicem bought Hercules several years ago, Baylog said.
“I’m sick of the poor neighbor the quarry has become” since the sale, he said. “... They need to be a good steward” of the creek, which is for the “public’s enjoyment” as well as a precious waterway for the development of brown trout, he added.
While water flow will soon return to normal, it’s too late, Baylog said.
“Everything in it is dead,” he said. “Nothing’s normal.”
The chapter will make a formal complaint with the company and state officials, Baylog said.
The state’s probe is already underway, a spokesman said.
“A Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Waterways conservation officer responded to the area late last night and this morning,” Mike Parker said. “Part of the officer’s job is to survey the area and determine a count of how many fish were lost, and also document which species were present.
“In this case, there were wild brown trout among those species lost. We will work to determine the cause, and pursue damages if there is a responsible party to hold accountable. We are aware of the lightning strike occurring at the facility.”
Baylog said he hopes the efforts “to get in the room” with Hercules lead to the company putting in additional electrical lines or more pumps, and better investing in Northampton County.
The creek’s fragile health depends on one thing, the mayor said.
“They have to keep those pumps running."
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Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
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