Algae That Killed Dunkard Creek Fish Found in Cabin Creek


Charleston Gazette
2 December 2009
By Ken Ward Jr., Staff writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia officials have found high levels of an exotic algae blamed for a huge Monongalia County fish kill in Cabin Creek in Kanawha County, according to water quality data made public Wednesday.

The state Department of Environmental Protection posted the data on its Web site, and said it plans to keep a close eye on the golden algae in Cabin Creek.

"Clearly, the high numbers do create a level of concern," said DEP spokeswoman Kathy Cosco. "And clearly, monitoring of Cabin Creek is something that is on our radar now."

DEP released its October sampling of more than three dozen streams for the golden algae the same day that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency disclosed a preliminary report on the huge fish kill that left Dunkard Creek along the West Virginia-Pennsylvania border lifeless.

EPA officials agreed with previous DEP assessments blaming the fish kill on the golden algae. The 17-page EPA report did not explain how the algae, found mostly in brackish waters in the south and southwestern U.S., got into Dunkard Creek in the first place.

But the report said that long-standing pollution violations related to coal-mining discharges in the area created water quality problems -- high conductivity that is a sign of increased solids such as chlorides -- created an environment that allowed the algae to thrive and turn toxic to fish, salamanders and other aquatic life.

In its report, EPA noted that federal officials in late September approved a DEP cleanup plan meant to deal with longstanding pollution problems in Dunkard Creek. But EPA said the fish kill indicates that additional steps may need to be taken.

Dunkard Creek is among a number of West Virginia streams where water quality is stressed by "ionic toxicity," or high electrical conductivity caused by increased levels of solids such as chlorides. In recent years, DEP has declined to include pollution reductions aimed at those problems in cleanup plans for those streams.

A Cabin Creek cleanup plan, approved in 2004, noted that two tributaries face such problems, but did not include any steps to deal with them.

The DEP data released Wednesday showed that Cabin Creek had golden algae levels of more than 135,000 colonies per milliliter. That's not as high as were found in some parts of Dunkard Creek, but higher than the 50,000 colonies per milliliter that DEP officials have said would concern them.

Four other streams also showed much lower levels of golden algae, according to the DEP data. They were Short Creek of the Ohio River and three tributaries of the West Fork: Tenmile, Simpson and Elk creeks.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.