Fish Kill Event - Alice Wyth Lake
Alice Wyth Lake, George Wyth Park, Waterloo
- Event ID
- 670
- Date of Kill
- 12/24/2005
- Waterbody Type
- Lake
- Cause Origin
- Natural
- Cause
- Environmental
- Mode
- N/A
- Magnitude
- 3 (1001 - 5000 fish killed)
- County
- Black Hawk
- ESD Field Office
- FO 1
- Fisheries Office
- Manchester Trout Hatchery
- LongDD
- -92.42191
- LatDD
- 42.52878
- Created Date
- 4/28/2006 12:00:00 AM
- Last Update
- 3/18/2019 10:50:07 AM
Low oxygen levels, lake was several feet low from dry summer/fall.
Press Release
Low oxygen levels is to blame for a fish kill in the 48-acre lake Alice Wyth Lake over the weekend. Alice Wyth Lake is a lake within George Wyth State Park, in Waterloo.
Anglers reported seeing dead and stressed fish in the lake to an area bait shop over the weekend, which, in turn, notified the Iowa Department of Natural Resources fisheries office in Manchester. Bryan Hayes, fisheries biologist, said oxygen levels in Alice Wyth were 3 parts per million at the surface and 2 parts per million on the bottom. Fish begin to stress when oxygen levels fall to 5 parts per million.
“We checked oxygen levels in the area, and George Wyth had 12 parts per million, which is fine, Fisher had 10 parts per million and Big Woods had 12. Alice Wyth seems to be the only lake affected, at this point,” Hayes said.
Most of the dead fish Hayes saw were small bluegills and crappies, and carp. He said there were reports from anglers of dead channel catfish. He said it is difficult to estimate how many fish are being affected because the kill is happening under the ice, but said 2,000 to 4,000 would be in the ballpark.
Alice Wyth experienced a natural winter kill in March 1996. “Overall, the basin is pretty shallow. There is a lot of water that is four to six feet deep,” Hayes said. The lake has a maximum depth of 18 feet. Many area lakes froze in early December, followed by snow cover, which is a recipe for winter kills in shallow lakes.
Alice Wyth Lake is a former borrow area that is close to the Cedar River. The lake is affected by ground water levels and is often flooded when the Cedar River is high. This fall was a dry year in northeast Iowa, and the lake was a few feet low.
Hayes said he will do a fish evaluation this summer to examine the extent of the winter kill.
“With the connection to the Cedar River, there is the likelihood that we won’t have to re-stock, simply let the river re-populate the lake,” Hayes said.