Source: Facebook/Inland Fisheries San Angelo District – Texas Parks and Wildlife
Dozens of dead fish have been spotted floating in Brays Bayou near the University of Houston medical branch this week, and state wildlife officials say the culprit is recent rainfall, not pollution or disease. Social media videos captured the die-off along the bayou, which cuts through southeast Texas and feeds into one of Houston’s most scrutinized waterways.
According to ABC13 Houston, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said there is no reason to believe pathogens or pollution caused the fish kills in Houston-area bayous at this moment. TPWD is investigating the fish kill reported near the University of Houston medical branch, and per the agency, the event appears to be a natural one caused by stormwater rather than any industrial or chemical source.
How Rain Turns Into a Fish Kill
Recent rainfall across southeast Texas brought a surge of stormwater into local bayous, and that influx can disrupt dissolved oxygen levels fish need to survive, per the outlet’s report on TPWD’s findings. Stormwater increases nutrients in bayou water, and those added nutrients can trigger algal blooms. A TPWD official explained that fish kills typically occur early in the morning because algae use dissolved oxygen overnight for respiration, a pattern the same account notes is common in Houston’s shallow, urban waterways…