Iowa DNR
Iowa DNR
Fish Kill DatabaseDB

Fish Kill Event - Unnamed Tributary to Otter Creek

Kill affected 2.11 miles of an unnamed tributary to Otter Creek from the mouth of a now dry ditch north of 1 st St. NE to the railroad bridge in Jefferson Township, Sections 21, 22, 20, 29, Fayette County, traveling through Oelwein, Iowa.

Event ID
1035
Date of Kill
6/4/2023
Waterbody Type
River/Stream
Cause Origin
Natural
Cause
Environmental
Mode
N/A
Magnitude
2 (101 - 1000 fish killed)
Estimated Fish Killed
1,000
Kill Length
2.11 miles
Investigation Expenses
$285.83
County
Fayette
ESD Field Office
FO 1
Fisheries Office
Decorah State Hatchery
LongDD
-91.91540
LatDD
42.67933
Created Date
6/6/2023 8:38:53 AM
Last Update
7/6/2023 2:44:54 PM
For more information about this fish kill event, contact the Field Office or Fisheries Office listed above.
Impacted Assessment Segments
Lat/Long uses WGS84 datum

Highlighted river segments indicate those impacted in part or whole by this fish kill event. It is not meant to represent the actual extent of the kill.

Onsite Comments

Fish kill assessment was not conducted due to unknown age of kill, body condition of fish, and no responsible party was found.

Water was clear and very shallow. Stream running through town is heavily rip-rapped with many hard surfacessusceptible to run-off. Sections of stream go dry. Temperatures previous to kill were very hot in the upper 80’s to 90’s forover several weeks with little to no rain. No official assessment was made on the dead fish however both live and dead fishwere observed the length of the kill area. Carcasses were identified as minnows, suckers, chubs, and dace. No game fish wereobserved above or below the bridges crossing the stream. At the minimum, 1,000 fish were killed.