Over 5,000 Fish Die in Alameda Creek; Sewage Leak Investigated
10/22/2008 -
Local residents have alerted officials to large numbers of dead fish in the Alameda Creek in Fremont, Calif.
Over 5,000 fish, mainly carp, sucker, and sculpin, were found dead in a 150-acre-foot section of the creek, the largest kill in the area’s recent memory, according to officials. Local, state, and federal water officials met to investigate the cause of the kill. Preliminary tests show that the fish died from a lack of oxygen in the water.
The Alameda County Water District (ACWD) has identified two possibilities for the oxygen-stripped water:
1. Runoff from the season’s first storm, which could have included organic materials, such as animal waste, which takes away oxygen.
2. A pipeline leak at a wastewater treatment plant, which released more than 100,000 gallons of sewer water into Alameda Creek. The chlorine, ammonia, and bacteria in the wastewater also pull oxygen out of the water.
ACWD general manager Paul Piraino said it is still unclear which one of the two is the culprit.
“I’ve never seen that many dead fish in this creek,” said state Fish and Game Department Game Warden Scott Murtha.
But officials said neither residents’ drinking water nor game fish were affected regardless of the cause of the kill, even though local residents rely of the creek for some of their drinking water.
“Drinking water wouldn’t be impacted,” ACWD supervisor Steve Dennis said. “The district can let the contaminated water pass through the creek, rather than diverting it into recharge ponds that collect future drinking water.”
Contact: Paul Piraino, ACWD, (510) 668-4202.
Over 5,000 fish, mainly carp, sucker, and sculpin, were found dead in a 150-acre-foot section of the creek, the largest kill in the area’s recent memory, according to officials. Local, state, and federal water officials met to investigate the cause of the kill. Preliminary tests show that the fish died from a lack of oxygen in the water.
The Alameda County Water District (ACWD) has identified two possibilities for the oxygen-stripped water:
1. Runoff from the season’s first storm, which could have included organic materials, such as animal waste, which takes away oxygen.
2. A pipeline leak at a wastewater treatment plant, which released more than 100,000 gallons of sewer water into Alameda Creek. The chlorine, ammonia, and bacteria in the wastewater also pull oxygen out of the water.
ACWD general manager Paul Piraino said it is still unclear which one of the two is the culprit.
“I’ve never seen that many dead fish in this creek,” said state Fish and Game Department Game Warden Scott Murtha.
But officials said neither residents’ drinking water nor game fish were affected regardless of the cause of the kill, even though local residents rely of the creek for some of their drinking water.
“Drinking water wouldn’t be impacted,” ACWD supervisor Steve Dennis said. “The district can let the contaminated water pass through the creek, rather than diverting it into recharge ponds that collect future drinking water.”
Contact: Paul Piraino, ACWD, (510) 668-4202.
