Updated June 6, 2019

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is investigating a fish kill reported late last month in Athens that killed an estimated 3,000 fish, including 17 slackwater darters, a federally protected species.

The incident occurred after a sewage spill into a small, unnamed tributary of Swan Creek in Athens.

The spill was first reported to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, which notified the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources about the fish kill. A biologist for DCNR estimated that the spill impacted 1.17 miles of Swan Creek, and about 3,000 fish were killed. That total includes about 645 game fish, such as bass or sunfish, and a large number of small, non-game fish, such as shiners and minnows and the slackwater darters.

Slackwater darters are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and their critical habitat includes Swan Creek and a handful of other small creeks in north Alabama and Tennessee.

The sewage spill occurred after maintenance workers blocked part of a sewer line in order to inspect the line with a camera. The bag used to block the line was not removed afterwards, causing the sewage to back up and eventually overflow.