Alabama environmental authorities are investigating a fish kill in Birmingham, following reports of thousands of dead fish in Valley Creek.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management says it is investigating the incident along with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which is in charge of estimating the number of fish killed. Birmingham’s stormwater management staff and the Jefferson County Environmental Services Division are also involved in the investigation.
“ADEM has been on the scene to determine if there is an ongoing situation causing the fish kill and to collect information to identify potential sources,” the department said in a news release.
“While no immediate cause of the fish kill has been determined, ADEM staff is searching the area for signs of possible causes.”
Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke said he first learned of the fish kill late Wednesday afternoon, but a lot of the fish had washed downstream by the time he got there to take photos.
“[The photos] don’t do the magnitude of the fish kill any justice,” he said. “It was too late Wednesday for good pictures, and most of them had been washed downstream on Thursday by rains.
“Thousands of fish were killed.”
Brooke said he could not tell what caused the fish kill, but it appears to have started at the double culvert at 5th Avenue and 7th Street North.
Valley Creek flows underground beneath the city of Birmingham before emerging at that culvert, a few blocks west of Interstate 65, a spot some call the Light of Day.
“Normally there are thousands of fish, plus lots of turtles and birds there,” Brooke said. “On [Wednesday] afternoon, there were no fish swimming there at all. I only found 3 dying catfish and several decaying minnows. All the dead fish had been washed downstream at that point by the rain.”
He said the evidence of dead fish were seen as far downstream as Avenue W, about 3 miles west of the culverts, past Rickwood Field near the Birmingham CrossPlex.
“The shop owner next to the culverts told me he started smelling dead fish around 3 p.m. on Tuesday,” Brooke said. “So, the fish kill occurred for at least 3 days.”
“Something awful must have been spilled, dumped, or discharged into the storm sewer system.”
Brooke encouraged anyone who sees or smells dead fish to contact the state’s Operation Game Watch at (800) 272-4263, as well as ADEM, and Riverkeeper immediately.
“Time is of the essence in these investigations,” he said.
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September 16, 2021 at 02:00PM
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Alabama investigating thousands of dead fish in Birmingham creek - AL.com
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