CHARLES CITY—DNR specialists investigated a fish kill on a tributary of Flood Creek about four miles west of Charles City Wednesday.
On-site field tests did not show elevated ammonia levels and live fish were seen along the affected two-mile stretch of stream, indicating the pollutant had moved downstream.
“It’s really important for people to call DNR right away when they see dead fish,” said Rachel Glaza, DNR environmental specialist.
“If we get there fast we can usually determine the cause. But in this case, whatever killed the fish had come and gone by the time we got there,” she said.
Although dead fish were reported to another agency Tuesday afternoon, DNR learned about it Wednesday.
DNR staff did a fish count, collected water samples for testing and is continuing to investigate the cause.
People can report spills and fish kills to the local DNR field office or call the 515-725-8694 reporting hotline.