DEP suspects pesticide or herbicide caused massive fish kill on Chartiers Creek
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The state Department of Environmental Protection suspects that a pesticide or herbicide caused a killed thousands of fish in Chartiers Creek in Washington County.
Chartiers Creek, a tributary of the Ohio River, runs from the center of Washington County to Allegheny County, emptying into the Ohio at McKees Rocks.
The fish kill was reported July 15 in the area of Valley Brook Road in Peters, according to the DEP and the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission. Both agencies are investigating.
Dead fish were found downstream in a 7-to-10-mile area.
Although DEP suspects that a pesticide or herbicide killed the fish, the agencies collected water samples and were expecting lab results by the end of the month, DEP spokeswoman Lauren Fraley said.
On Monday and Tuesday, DEP inspectors and biologists on site found signs of live fish and other aquatic life, she said.
Species impacted were common warm-water species, including various minnows, suckers, carp and crayfish, said Mike Parker, spokesman for the Fish & Boat Commission. There were no reports of reptiles or amphibians, such as turtles, snakes or salamanders, being noticeably impacted, he said.
“It’s a shock, we’ve worked on this stream for a long time,” said Carrilee Hemington, vice president of the Upper Chartiers Creek Watershed Association.
The watershed association has been monitoring the stream for more than 20 years. They have been trying to improve water quality to enhance fishing and promote the creek for kayaking and recreation by the general public.
“This is one more blow,” Hemington said.
“Going forward, we need the public to be educated on what causes these events and what we can do to take care of our stream,” she said, noting that steps such as planting buffers along the creek and carefully using salt in the winter are two measures that will help the waterway.
While the fish kill was significant, it’s hard to tell how many fish died, Parker said.
“If there was a pollutant involved, and it is no longer present in the stream, recovery of the fish population will begin fairly quickly,” he said.
Parker doesn’t know how long it will take the fish population to recover.
“While it is shocking to see such a large number of dead fish, other fish will move throughout the stream and begin to populate the affected area,” he said.
The recovery will be tracked in future surveys and angler reports.
Fraley urges the public to report fish kills, pollution and other concerning environmental events to DEP’s Southwest Regional Office at 412-442-4000 or on its website.