RINCON, Ga. (WSAV) — Dead fish washed up on the shore of a creek in Rincon earlier this month, and officials urge you to stay out of that water.
"A kayaker was out here using the water following the storm and saw a significant number of dead fish, different sizes, different species," said Cloe Lemaire, an environmental scientist for Savannah Riverkeeper.
"From brim to small catfish to a little tiny bass that was kind of gasping at the surface," she continued.
According to Lemaire, Savannah Riverkeeper was called in on Oct. 11 to the Tommy Long Boat Ramp at Ebenezer Creek.
"It was following Hurricane Milton and even before that, after Hurricane Helene," she said, "and so water levels were still extremely high in this area, probably 2 feet or so higher but completely covering the parking lot of this boat ramp, so significant, and actually by the time I arrived, I couldn't even see the fish carcasses around here because they were all flooded over."
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Lemaire said the riverkeepers performed a variety of tests to get to the bottom of why so many fish were dying.
"We can't say for sure what it was, but we're taking those water quality measurements," she said. "It seems like it's pointing to dissolved oxygen. That's really common after storms, particularly hurricanes. It can take days to weeks for those flood waters to move downriver. It carries with it lots of organics and debris that decompose in the water, which reduces those oxygen levels."
On top of the reduced oxygen levels, the fish carcasses make the water quality even worse, which is why the riverkeepers advise against any kind of recreational activity.
"If you're seeing these dead fish in the water or along the shoreline, don't eat the fish that you're catching," Lemaire said. "We also suggest not to swim in the water when you see those types of carcasses and bodies lying around like that or just dead wildlife in general, or film or scum on the water."
Other conditions in the area, like commercial development, also play a part according to Lemaire.
"Our wetlands are like filters and sponges for the environment, and the more that we are building and pouring concrete over them, the less of that we have to clean out our water," she said.
The Savannah Riverkeepers said that there is no specific timeline for when it will be safe for locals to fish and swim in Ebenezer Creek again, but the Georgia Department of Natural Resources will be monitoring the water quality in the area in the meantime.