More than 120 fish found dead in reservoir

SUMMIT COUNTY - Up from Denver, Mario Lombardi and his friends are hoping to catch a few trout on the banks of the Dillon Reservoir.

"Coming out to the mountains, enjoying the scenery, doing some fishing with the buddies," said Lombardi.

It's a good thing they're looking for trout, because sucker fish in these waters have been taking a hit. More than 120 were found dead in the Dillon Reservoir.

Jon Ewert is an aquatic biologist with the Division of Wildlife and says it was a kayaker who spotted the fish and then reported the finding to Denver Water who asked the Division of Wildlife to investigate.

All the fish were found near the Meadow Creek inlet which sits under Highway 9 in the town of Frisco.

Early on, investigators thought the fish might have died from a lack of oxygen, but that has been ruled out.

"These fish didn't show any sign of that," said Ewert.

Working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the DOW now believes the fish kill may be the result of some sort of spill in Meadow Creek.

"All the carcasses appear to be about the same age or (have the) same time of death, so all that evidence suggest that was a single spill event in Meadow Creek itself," said Ewert.

If it was a chemical, the DOW says it's gone now and no other fish have been affected.

"Whatever agent that caused the fish kill was there and gone, since we are not continually seeing more fish carcasses coming up," said Ewert.

The Dillon Reservoir is a major source of water for the city of Denver.

Denver Water spokesperson Stacy Chesney says there is no evidence that the water has been affected by the fish kill.

"Our treatment facilities are monitored 24 hours a day, and they have been doing routine testing and haven't seen anything out of the ordinary in the water," said Chesney.

It's also unclear if the spill might be related to the closure of the Dillon Dam Road. After Denver Water closed the road, many in Denver and in Summit County expressed anger over one of only three east-west roads in Summit County being closed.

What is clear is that as far as the fishing goes, the fish kill near Frisco hasn't had an impact on Lombardi or his buddies, who after a short time hooked one of those trout they drove up the mountains for.

"Good fishing," said Lombardi.