Rivers Showing Signs Of Life
Fish Showing Up In Areas Of Streams Killed By Spilled Chemical

When people came to terms with the fact that the fish killed when a toxic chemical was spilled into the Portage Creek June 30 numbered in the millions, the burning question was: how long will it take for the streams to recover?

No one had that answer then and no one has it now. But, a wet summer has given both streams affected by the chemical spill an excellent chance to recover more quickly than experts could have predicted two months ago.

"It's almost like divine intervention," said local Waterways Conservation Officer Bill Crisp said of the unusually wet summer. "The amount of rain has been helpful (in diluting the pollution in the water) and its timing has been incredible."

Crisp, who monitors the pH level of every rainfall, said that the corrective efforts at the spill site have been aided by rainfalls that have seemed to occur in tandem with the application of citric acid, a chemical that has been used to lower the pH levels where the spilled chemical is most concentrated.

But, Crisp noted, it's going to take a lot more than luck to bring back what has been lost.

"I hear people using the word 'recovering' when they talk about (the affected streams)," Crisp said. "Sure, the chemistry of the water won't kill fish, but it's going to be a long time before it's back to the way it used to be."

Crisp went on to say that fish, even a brown trout very near to the spill site, are being seen all along both the Portage and Driftwood branches, their numbers of minuscule compared to what the streams held just two months ago.

Crisp explained that fish that survived the spill and those that were above the areas affected by the pollution are "migrating" into areas of the stream that held natural fish populations before so many thousands were killed.

Specifically, paddlers on the Driftwood Branch have seen juvenile small-mouth bass in areas where no life existed as recently as four weeks ago. Many different species of minnows are living where several weeks ago, no life could be found. Crayfish are not plentiful, but can be found if you look hard. Marcoinvetebrates, the antsized "bugs" that inhabit the stream bed, can be found, although their numbers are so few, it is hardly worth mentioning.

That, Crisp said, is why he believe the Fish & Boat Commission will forego stocking the Portage Branch altogether next spring.

"We're looking at a lot of different options," Crisp said about the plan to try to reintroduce fish populations into the area's hardest hit by the pollution. "This is just my opinion, but I don't believe we'll stock it next year."

Crisp and his colleagues with the Fish & Boat Commission are facing pressure from some anglers who simply want the fish back in their favorite haunts.

"We understand that," he said. "The fishermen want the stream to be normal and they want it to be normal as fast as it can be. But, that's not something we can control."

Despite what is essentially a "put and take" stocking program in local waters, the Fish Commission will not stock trout where there's inadequate food sources for them to survive.

And that's the heart of the matter. The tiny organisms that support the bottom of the food chain have to return naturally and that takes time.

"Sure you can stock the fish, but they'll just leave," Crisp said. "They won't stay where there's no feed."

Crisp's professional estimate on when an angler unfamiliar with the stream will not be able to notice the stream has had problems, is two years, but it 's going to be several years after that before the anglers familiar with the stream will consider it "recovered."