All fish dead in Nevada man-made lake
Source: Reno Gazette-Journal
A mysterious die-off apparently has killed all of the fish in Sparks Marina.
Up to 100,000 trout, catfish and bass may have died since mid-December because of low oxygen levels in the man-made lake’s waters, experts with the Nevada Department of Wildlife said Tuesday. The cause of diminished oxygen remains unknown.
... While only a theory at this point, biologists say the die-off could have been the cause of a “violent turnover” of the lake’s waters associated with the December cold snap that sent Reno-area temperatures plummeting. Such an event could have rapidly diminished oxygen levels in the upper levels of the lake and caused oxygen-poor waters from the bottom to rise to the surface, experts said.
... Previously an aggregate pit operated by Helms Construction Co., the area was found to be contaminated in 1988 by pollutants leaking from an adjacent oil tank farm, with subsequent cleanup overseen by Sparks and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, according to Sparks officials. ... There’s no obvious indication hydrocarbon pollution could be associated with the die-off.
Read more: http://www.rgj.com/article/20140115/NEWS/301150066/All-fish-wiped-out-Sparks-Marina
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