What killed over 52,000 fish in Kansas City’s Brush Creek? Officials think they know

The Missouri Department of Conservation said on Thursday said they believed heavy rains may be to blame for a large fish kill in Brush Creek that wiped out 52,000 fish.

The fish kill affected about 4.1 miles of Brush Creek with dead fish found from Belleview Avenue in the Country Club Plaza area to an area downstream near Elmwood Avenue, said Jake Colehour, Missouri Department of Conservation fisheries management biologist in a news release.

An estimated 50,000 sunfish, 1,900 common carp and 240 silver carp perished in the event that occurred between June 12 and June 14. All the large carp were found in a pool or pond area between two concrete weirs from Bruce R. Watkins and Elmwood.

Storms and thunderstorms that dumped heavy rains in the Kansas City on June 11 might have raised water levels, allowing the carp to swim upstream into that area, Colehour said. When water levels receded, the fish could not swim out to the Blue River, which connects with the Missouri River.

The concrete structures in the creek sometimes create stagnant water conditions which lead to high water temperatures and low oxygen levels. That can trigger fish kills, especially during the summer, according to the conservation department.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has tested the water and is also investigating the fish kill. It will determine the cause.

The Missouri Department of Conservation handles about 200 fish kills and other water quality events each year that pose a threat to fish, wildlife and recreation. Half of the events are caused by pollution. The rest are natural events. The conservation and natural resources departments partner together to investigate fish kills and to make sure water quality is restored.

To report a fish kill, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zr6.