COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Thousands of dead fish are washing up on the shores of the Chattahoochee River in what the Riverkeeper calls one of the worst fish kills in years.
Channel 2’s Michael Doudna was on the river on Friday where he found large amounts of trash and dead fish.
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Jason Ulseth says he has been patrolling this stretch of the river for 20 years, but has never seen anything like what he did on Friday.
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“This river is a huge part of my life. I have dedicated my life to protecting this river system," he said.
For 20 miles downstream of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Ulseth found banks coated in black muck and thousands of dead fish.
"I’ve never seen that out here. I’ve never seen a fish kill of this magnitude," he said.
Ulseth says that after massive flash flooding on Wednesday, some sewage overflowed into the river, causing the oxygen levels in the water to drop.
“When the oxygen crashes like that, there’s nowhere to hide,” he said.
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Essentially, he says, every species of fish that calls that stretch of the Chattahoochee River home suffocated.
“The oxygen levels are now returning, but the damage is done,” he said.
On Friday afternoon, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources took samples of the fish and water to see what happened and how it can be stopped in the future.
Ulseth says that with the amount of damage done, it will likely take months for the fish population to recover.
The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management issued a statement on Friday night saying,
“The Department of Watershed Management takes incidents affecting the Chattahoochee River very seriously. We understand the concern this fish kill has caused for residents and environmental stakeholders throughout the community. The investigation remains ongoing, and DWM is committed to providing accurate information and transparent updates as findings become available. Protecting the health of our waterways and the communities that depend on them remains one of our highest priorities.”
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