KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An estimated over 52,000 fish have been killed in and near the Kansas City Brush Creek according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
According to the department, the event may have started on June 12.
Jake Colehour, a fishery and management biologist with MDC, estimates that 1,900 common carp, 240 silver carp and 50,000 sunfish were killed during the event.
The fish were found from Bellview Avenue in the Country Club Plaza to an area downstream near Elmwood Boulevard.
Colehour believes a heavy rain event in the area on June 11 may have raised water levels causing the fish to swim upstream into the area.
When water levels dropped, the fish were unable to swim back to the Blue River which connects to the Missouri River.
According to the MDC, concrete structures in the creek can create stagnant water conditions with high water temperatures and low oxygen levels which can cause fish to die.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources began work on testing the water and will determine the cause of the event.
