Good news for the Susky...finally.

[bigjohn58]

PocketWater wrote:
What are they saying is actually wrong with the water? There has to be some chemicals in there that are much higher than normal. Fertilizer runoff?

I am leaning more towards sewage treatment plants being unable to remove all the hormones and whatnot out of the waste before discharging. Farmers get blamed for too much of this and farms have always been around. I have been told about the increased amount of birth control and other hormonal drugs that end up in the sewage treatment plants do not get filtered out enough before entering the river. At least this is what I've heard.

 

[PocketWater]

bigjohn58 wrote:

PocketWater wrote:
What are they saying is actually wrong with the water? There has to be some chemicals in there that are much higher than normal. Fertilizer runoff?

I am leaning more towards sewage treatment plants being unable to remove all the hormones and whatnot out of the waste before discharging. Farmers get blamed for too much of this and farms have always been around. I have been told about the increased amount of birth control and other hormonal drugs that end up in the sewage treatment plants do not get filtered out enough before entering the river. At least this is what I've heard.

Could be. Farms may have always been around, but the processes they use and chemicals they use haven't. I am just curious why they haven't actually at least stated the chemicals or whatever that are found in the water that aren't found in cleaner waters.

 

[troutbert]

They haven't stated, because they don't know.

A massive die back of smallmouth bass in a river where those fish have flourished since they were introduced in the late 1800s is certainly an indication of a problem.

But no really knows for sure what caused the problem.

 

[PocketWater]

troutbert wrote:
They haven't stated, because they don't know.

A massive die back of smallmouth bass in a river where those fish have flourished since they were introduced in the late 1800s is certainly an indication of a problem.

But no really knows for sure what caused the problem.

Seems kind of ridiculous to think they haven't taken water samples and had them tested to say 'this water contains an unusually high amount of X' when compared to clean healthy rivers.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

It's a far more complex issue than testing the water and seeing what's in it especially when you don't exactly know what your looking for. Some water quality tests for specific chemical compounds or hormones can cost hundreds of dollars per sample multiply that by hundreds of samples needed and your talking a lot of money. The good news is that the population appears to be recovering. The issue appears to be related to a whole host of environmental stressors that make the bass more susceptible to diseases. So for example excessive nutrients are causing more algal growth there is less DO in the water and probably warmer temperatures, increased hormone levels may cause imbalances in the fish and abnormal responses then you expose the fish to a virus etc. It's just a lot for their immune systems to keep up with.

 

[hendeylathe]

http://nypost.com/2016/07/20/trophy-lawns-destroyed-this-east-hampton-pond-with-poison/