On Thursday, September 17, a group from Sunnyside Environmental School was at Tideman Johnson park, and noticed a lot of foam on the creek and clearly struggling fish. They reported this to the spill response hotline at Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. Others reported large numbers of expired animals–fish, lamprey, salamanders, crayfish, frogs, etc.–along the creek in this area on Friday and Saturday. The state Departments of Environmental Quality and Fish and Wildlife were subsequently alerted, as well; they are conducting a coordinated investigation into the cause of the mass die-off. JCWC gets frequent reports of foam in the creek, but this is the first time we’ve seen a major kill event associated with it. We are deeply saddened by the loss of life, and hope that we can learn what caused it to prevent a similar event in the future. JCWC appreciates all that the watershed community does to love and improve the health of Johnson Creek; the watershed is resilient, and you are a part of that! If you live in the City of Portland and see suspected pollution or spills entering the creek or storm drains, please call the spill response line at 503-823-7180; in Milwaukie, the number to call is 503-786-7555. In Gresham, report non-hazardous spills to the Operations Center at 503-618-2626; illegal dumping on private property can be reported to Code Compliance at 503-618-2248, while dumping on public roads can be reported to the Metro Regional Illegal Dumping (RID) Patrol at 503-234-3000.
