Fish Kill Event - Des Moines River
from Eldon (Wapello Co.) to Douds (Van Buren Co)
- Event ID
- 515
- Date of Kill
- 7/31/2002
- Waterbody Type
- River/Stream
- Cause Origin
- Natural
- Cause
- Environmental
- Mode
- N/A
- Magnitude
- 2 (101 - 1000 fish killed)
- Estimated Fish Killed
- 110
- Kill Length
- 10.00 miles
- Valuation
- $2,629.51
- County
- Wapello
- ESD Field Office
- FO 6
- Fisheries Office
- Rathbun Hatchery
- LongDD
- -92.22926
- LatDD
- 40.92098
- Created Date
- 8/5/2002 12:00:00 AM
- Last Update
- 2/21/2019 1:47:46 PM
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.
The nature of this kill is unknown, however, I suspect it is due to natural causes. This is a recurring problem in this stretch of the river, anywhere from Eldon to Bonaparte. We have investigated similar kills as in past years including, but not limited to 1997. Shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) appears to be the only species affected. In 1997 I contacted various agencies requesting information on sturgeon kills and discovered that sturgeon are acutely vulnerable to ammonia. It is likely that high water temperatures (currently 90 ?F) coupled with low flows in the presence of normal ammonia levels have lead to this continuing kill. Dissolved oxygen measurements were taken at both Douds and Eldon and in both cases DO was in the 10-12 mg/l range. Ammonia levels were normal in both locations at less than 0.2 mg/l. Field office 6 of EPD dispatched two individuals (Russ Royce and Terry Jones). EPD collected water samples for further testing; however, no further developments are expected.