BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — There is an environmental concern occurring along a Buffalo waterway. Many dead fish are surfacing along the Buffalo River Cazenovia Creek in south Buffalo.
“Kind of having to cover my nose here. A load of fish everywhere -- little minnows everywhere,” declared a kayaker.
A man kayaking along a section of the Buffalo River near Cazenovia Creek sent 7 News a video alerting us to a number of dead fish floating in the water.
I went to an area of the river at Seneca Bluffs, an Erie County Park, where you will quickly find the dead fish. But why is this happening?
“It’s too early to tell. We’re going to go back to our office and take the data and see what we can find,” explained Jesse Schwallie, assistant engineer, division of water, New York State Department of Environmental Conversation (DEC).
Schwallie works with the water division of the state DEC and was at the waterway with a small team to collect samples.
“Right now, we're just collecting some samples and taking some data to see if there's anything wrong with the river or, you know, what we can pinpoint and see what the problem is,” stated Schwallie.
“And how long will it take you from the time you've collected the samples today to figure out what's going on with the fish?” Buckley questioned. “It's hard to tell. We could find one thing and it will lead us in a different direction,” responded Schwallie.
"Is this something normal to see something like this in the summer? Buckley asked. “It can be. There's a lot of pockets of different types of water that come in from history in the Buffalo River, with all the industries that we had, so it can be fairly common,” replied Schwallie.
Although the DEC is not able to say what is causing the fish to die, experts say often a lack of oxygen could be the cause.
“We did take some dissolved oxygen measures and we'll find out what we see,” described Schwallie. “It could be a number of things; temperature is definitely an effect right now. It could be from someone discharging something they are not supposed to.”
Some curious park-goers, who didn't want to talk on camera, were checking out the situation and were surprised to see the dead fish floating by.
The DEC expert said they are not sure if it’s only happening in the section of the river or if it coming from further upstream from a different source.
I have been in touch with the Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper. They tell me they are aware of the situation and have contacted agencies, such as the DEC and U.S. Fish & Wildlife, to figure out what is going on with the dead fish.
The state DEC released this information in an email Thursday afternoon:
"Staff from multiple DEC divisions, including the Division of Law Enforcement’s Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigations (BECI), Division of Water, and Division of Natural Resources immediately began an investigation into the apparent fish kill at this location. Staff visited the site to assess the situation. Further evaluation as to the cause of the dead fish remains under investigation. There are no anticipated impacts to drinking water supplies, as the surrounding area is serviced by municipal drinking water. DEC takes all matters of water quality very seriously and will continue to monitor the situation to ensure public health and the environment are fully protected."
The public can contact the ECO to report an environmental crime or to report an incident, call 1-844-DEC-ECOS for 24-hour dispatch.
