Vol. 7 No. 2 Fall 1999
A Newsletter About New Jersey's Water Quality Programs

This summer's record high temperatures have caused several fish kills across the state. Largely due to thermal shock and bacterial infections, these kills have been the worst in New Jersey since the early '60s. While hundreds of fish from Middle Valley in Morris County to the downstream end of the Raritan River have died, some are surviving by congregating near sewage treatment plant effluent pipes-where the water is crystal clear and 4 to 5 degrees colder. Bob Soldwedel, chief of the DEP's Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries, said this situation was particularly noticeable near the Clinton sewage treatment plant, where about 75 trout were stacked up around the plant's discharge pipe.

"It's ironic. Years ago, the effluent from treatment plants is the last place you'd expect to find fish," Soldwedel said. "Now, it's the only place they can live. I guess the treatment plant upgrades have worked."

While nearly every fisherman complains the DEP didn't stock enough trout, Soldwedel said the fish he saw around the discharge pipes were good-size brook, brown, and rainbow species. "These are beautiful trout. Most are a foot long," he said.