More than 1,200 fish in Cedar Rapids’ McLoud Run, Iowa’s only urban trout stream, died this week after a broken water main dumped chlorinated water into the creek on Monday. McLoud Run flows for two miles through a wooded area along the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and adjacent to I-380. It has been a favorite fishing spot for decades, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) annually stocks McLoud Run with three types of trout: brook trout, brown trout and rainbow trout.
In addition to being Iowa’s only urban trout stream, McLoud Run is also the state’s southernmost trout stream.
“It’s kind of become the norm for this area,” DNR fisheries technician Chris Mack told KCRG about fish kills caused by water main failures.
Fish in McLoud Run have also previously died because of contamination by toxic chemicals after pesticides and cleaning compounds used by nearby businesses or residents were washed into the creek. Water that runs off of hot concrete surfaces can also kill or severely stress the fish that live in the normally cool stream, where the water temperature averages around 55 degrees.
This was the eighth fish kill in McLoud Run since 2012, and the second this year. In January, another water main break spilled chlorinated water into the stream, killing 200 to 300 fish, according to DNR estimates. The agency thinks approximately 1,250 fish died this week.
Mack estimated that only about 30 percent of the dead fish were trout. Most Mack observed while surveying the damage at the creek were white suckers.
The break in the water main reportedly occurred near the 3000 block of Oakland Road, NE. Drinking water in Cedar Rapids is lightly chlorinated to ensure it is safe for people. That chlorination, however, can be fatal to fish that come into contact with it. White suckers are especially sensitive to chemicals such as chlorine.
On Sunday, one day before the latest fish kill in McLoud Run, the Gazette published a story that explained fish kills “this year in Iowa streams that were caused by farm fertilizer and manure are among the largest documented by the state in more than 40 years.”
The largest fish kill in the state this year occurred in March in southwestern Iowa. A storage tank at the NEW Cooperative near Red Oak leaked 267,000 gallons of fertilizer into the East Nishnabotna River. The leak contaminated 60 miles of the river, stretching into Missouri. According to the DNR, approximately 750,000 fish in the Iowa section of polluted river.
In the case of fish kills, DNR estimates the value of the dead fish and then issues a fine to the polluter based on that value. The estimate for the value of the fish killed in the Red Oak incident was $226,000. Iowa Code, however, prohibits the DNR from issuing administrative fines of more than $10,000, so the agency has referred the case to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office for possible litigation.
This week’s fish kill in Cedar Rapids is the 12th the DNR has documented this year.
Last month, the Cedar Rapids Water Department purchased pressure and temperature monitors that will allow staff to more quickly detect leaks and water main ruptures. The sensors are scheduled to be installed next month.
