Sediment Runoff Causes Fish Kill on Little Ivy Creek

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Monday's rain turned the Little Ivy Creek a familiar color, brown. Taylor Barnhill has noticed the river brown after each rain storm this summer, but this time a host of dead fish washed up along the stream bank next to his property. The mud runoff was so great the fish could no longer breath in the water. What was once a thriving hatchery supported trout stream appears to have lost many smaller fish. The dead fish, including small mouth bass and northern brook trout, are a harsh reminder of the devastating impacts of having too much mud or sediment in our streams.

A recent study by UNCA professors confirmed the toll this sediment has taken on the Ivy River. Previous sampling years have yielded a bounty of different fish, but this year's sampling efforts fell well short of the normal numbers. Fish kills are one of the many reasons that any grading activity has to install erosion control devices to keep mud from washing into streams, onto other land owners property, and into roads. When these devices are not installed correctly or maintained properly and mud does wash into our rivers, it is almost always at the expense of the streams aquatic life.

Since mud in our streams in the number one polluter in the French Broad Watershed, RiverLink has been diligently training volunteers to monitor such incidents. Mr. Barnhill graduated from RiverLink's Muddy Water Watch training in 2008 and upon seeing the muddy stream was prepared to notify the appropriate regulators. After visiting the site, the Division of Water Quality is working to determine the cause of the muddy water and will evaluate how they will proceed at that time.

RiverLink has ongoing Muddy Water Watch trainings. For more information contact the French Broad Riverkeeper at 828-252-8474 or at riverkeeper@riverlink.org.

RiverLink is a regional non-profit spearheading the economic and environmental revitilzation of the French Broad River Watershed. Visit www.riverlink.org for more information.

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About the Author - Hartwell Carson

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Contact Hartwell Carson:
RiverLink
www.riverlink.org

Learn more about Hartwell.

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