Runoff

These pictures were sent in by Hartwell Carson of RiverLink. A recent July rain sent waters rushing through Little Ivy Creek, so impactful that some of the fish were unable to breathe and washed up on shore. Monday's rain turned the Little Ivy Creek a familiar color, brown. Taylor Barnhill has noticed the river brown after each rain storm this summer, but this time a host of dead fish washed up along the stream bank next to his property. The mud runoff was so great the fish could no longer breath in the water.

Since mud in thestreams in the number one polluter in the French Broad Watershed, RiverLink has been diligently training volunteers to monitor such incidents. Taylor Barnhill, who witnessed the waters, graduated from RiverLink's Muddy Water Watch training in 2008 and upon seeing the muddy stream was prepared to notify the appropriate regulators.

RiverLink has ongoing Muddy Water Watch trainings. For more information contact the French Broad Riverkeeper at 828-252-8474 or at riverkeeper@riverlink.org.

RiverLink is a regional non-profit spearheading the economic and environmental revitilzation of the French Broad River Watershed. Go to http://www.riverlink.org/ for more information.