(Orleans)– Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say a fish kill that happened last week near the outlet of the Iowa Great Lakes was a result of the recent hot, dry weather and low water levels.
Mike Hawkins, a fisheries biologist for the DNR, tells KUOO news the fish kill took place just below the dam on Lower Gar. He says it involved about a thousand fish…most of them were carp and fresh water drum, but he says it also affected game fish such as blue gills, fresh water perch and walleye.
Hawkins says the dissolved oxygen in that area was near zero. He says the elevation of the lakes had dropped enough that it prevented water from going over the dam, trapping the water between it and an older control structure. Hawkins says the water in that area became stagnant as a result, depleting the oxygen.
Hawkins says the cooler temperatures and rain should help ease the situation. But he says one drawback with the heavy rain is that it causes run-off, which can carry contaminants into waterways.
