Tens of thousands of dead fish found in Chattanooga creek [photos]

Gallery: Tens of thousands of dead fish found in Chattanooga creek

Tens of thousands of dead and dying fish have been found in a small creek off Dupont Parkway near the Tennessee River.

The cause of the incident is unknown but is under investigation. The fish stretch at least hundreds of yards through the creek behind Memphis and Atlanta drives.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has a biologist on scene.

"Part of my job is to assess all fish kills and try to determine the cause, the extent and find if there's civil liability," TWRA biologist Bobby Brown said.

At this point, Brown has determined there are two types of dead fish at the scene: Gizzard Shad and Threadfin Shad.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation was notified yesterday of the issue, according to a release from agency spokeswoman Kim Schofinski. The state agency notified the city and TWRA, who are investigating.

"No obvious indications of pollution were observed," she wrote.

The cause may be related to a sewage overflow from about 10 days ago, Brown said, but he was clear it is entirely too early to determine what happened or rule out other causes.

Chattanooga's Director of Waste Resources Division Mike Patrick confirmed there was overflow during heavy rain on the weekend of Feb. 10. There is a wastewater pump station next to the creek and a sewage line and a sewer force main running through the area, he said. However, there's no indication at this point that those are the cause.

"We were made aware of the situation yesterday afternoon. We are not aware of the cause," Patrick said. "It's up to TWRA to make that determination. We are assisting them as much as we can."

Contact staff writer Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6361. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook @ChattanoogaOutdoors.

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