Heat, drought blamed for killing area fish

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - The combination of the hot weather and the drought is killing fish in area ponds and lakes.

The fish are turning up dead in several different places, including the James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area near Lee's Summit.

A mixture of heat and lack of rainfall is bad news.

“We are seeing a lot of fish kills this year,” said Jake Allman, fisheries management biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Hot water holds less oxygen, and less water gets warmer faster, so, in a nutshell, we have less water getting hotter faster and that's leading to fish kills.”

The more shallow the pond, experts say, the bigger the chance of fish dying.