Arlington--I saw lots of dead fish in Four Mile Run tonight

[kurtyboy]

4/18/08 Dozens of them, belly-up on the bottom of the stream. I just moved into the Brittany from the District, and I like to make this the last couple of hundred yards of my walk home from grad school. I look for fish (preferably living) every time I walk by. Tonight, lots of dead ones, from four inches to 20 or so (a couple of beautiful trout that might have even pushed 22").

Was there a chemical spill upstream or something. I know that stream has had a lot of sewage leaks into it, but I didn't know just how unhealthy it had become. Public health officials need to know--I'm sending an email to them next.

Kurtyboy

[spooky3]

1. I think I recall getting an emailed notice of a water main break problem near there

Hope they have solved it. Not sure if this was it:

Major water main break in the area of Columbia Pike and S. Dinwiddie St. Wakefield HS has closed. Estimate 8 hours to complete repairs. (TM/OEM)

Sent by Arlington County OEM to All users, All Employees-EAS (e-mail, pagers, cell phones) through Arlington Alert

....powered by Cooper Notification RSAN

[sofa king]

2. They might still be shad.

The Potomac is too hot to sustain a trout population below Harper's Ferry. Chances are the dead fish you saw are lingering shad left over from the massive shad run DC had this year. American shad are more-or-less overgrown sardines, often seen in the 15-20 inch range. They are, unfortunately, highly sensitive to environmental hazards and water temperature changes; a busted water line might do them in by the temperature change alone. Recognizable by their narrow cross-section and prominent V-shaped tail, they also bear a superficial resemblance to trout.

The other fish in that size range--three kinds of bass, chubs, and carp--are far less expendable (except for the carp, which don't easily die under any circumstances). I hope it wasn't them.