The Brief
- Atlanta Watershed Management hired outside contractors to investigate a massive Chattahoochee River fish kill that happened last month.
- Officials are tracking whether an underground tunnel near Peachtree Creek in Northwest Atlanta played a role in the disaster.
- Environmental groups previously blamed a mix of stormwater runoff, low water levels and sewage for the ecological crisis.
ATLANTA – City officials are turning to independent investigators to determine what caused thousands of fish to suffocate in the Chattahoochee River last month following heavy rainfall.
Peachtree Creek tunnel investigation
What we know:
Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management hired an outside contractor to run a separate probe into the massive die-off. Investigators are focusing on an underground tunnel near Peachtree Creek in Northwest Atlanta that overflowed for about four hours before the fish died.
The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper previously stated that low water levels combined with stormwater runoff and sewage overflow dropped oxygen levels drastically. This deadly mix created a suffocating kill zone that stretched for at least 20 miles along the river. …