Staff from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Fisheries division is in Greene County today investigating a fish kill discovered yesterday in Hardin Creek. They’ll be working to determine the number of fish killed, whether it was a total kill, and a possible cause.
Jake Theis, an environmental specialist at the Atlantic environmental field office did the preliminary investigation Wednesday. He told GreeneCountyNewsOnline the portion of the creek impacted is downstream from the bridge on Highway 4 north of Jefferson. The creek meanders east and south in Hardin Township; a bridge two miles east of Jefferson on Highway 30 also crosses Hardin Creek. Theis said he stopped seeing dead fish at 255th St in Grant Township, near where the creek enters the Raccoon River. He saw no dead fish in the river.
Theis found many species of dead fish. He saw no living fish, but added the water was cloudy and it’s possible there were living fish in deeper holes in the creek bottom.
Fisheries staff is looking today to determine the extent of the kill and if a cause can be found.
If an environmental contamination is found, the party responsible will be liable for cleanup. However, the kill could have a natural cause. “I have no confidence in saying any direction the investigation will go,” Theis said.
