State officials investigating Lake Greenwood ‘fish kill’

An investigation into a major fish kill on Lake Greenwood primarily in the Cross Hill area is ongoing by state officials who say they have yet to have found a definitive answer as to what caused multiple species of fish to die over the past couple of weeks.

Most of the fish have died in the lower portion of Lake Greenwood below the lower train trestle in the Cross Hill area, effecting the shallow areas and inlets around Irvines Landing, Black Gate communities, near Summerset Bay Road and at Lake Greenwood State Park.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) are both investigating the incidents, which were first reported around April 13 by fishermen and residents in the area.

“Both state agencies continue to receive and review sample results as well as follow up on information provided by local residents in order to try to determine the cause,” SCDNR officials said in a release.

In the release, officials also recommended that people and pets refrain from contact with water in locations where the fish kill has been observed.

Phillip Gentry, an outdoors writer and Waterloo resident, said he believes a “perfect storm” of natural events caused the fish kill, the first being an extreme spike in water temperatures on the lake around the same time as the fish kill.

“It just makes sense to me that it was primarily due to that temperature spike that we had, and, of course, we’ve been in a drought,” Gentry said. “There’s not a lot of water coming into the lake, so I’d be curious as to how much water is going out of the lake because the water intakes are almost directly across from each other right above the lower trestle.

“If they’re pulling a lot of water out at that point, then that’s going to reduce any kind of fresh water flow that we get down the lake, so that would just exacerbate that whole situation.”

Gentry said the temperature spike, during which water temperatures rose around 20 degrees from the low 60s into the 80s, could have contributed to a lack of oxygen in the water. Fish spawning in the springtime are at there most vulnerable and the stress of reproduction coupled with a drastic change in habitat can be deadly, he said.

“Lake Greenwood is a very shallow lake to begin with and those shallow pockets off to the left and the right aren’t getting any water flow,” Gentry said. “One thing that high temperatures like that will do is suck all the oxygen out of the water.”

Gentry said he was on water when the temperature spike occurred and was amazed at how quickly it had risen when he measured it himself.

The lake temperatures now are back within normal levels, and the fish kill seems to have subsided, but the investigation is continuing. Algal blooms and other natural factors are also being investigated.

“If you can say there’s any such thing as a natural phenomenon in a man-made lake, then it’s a natural phenomenon,” Gentry said. “These lakes really aren’t supposed to exist the way they do, so you’re going to have some results and some conditions that, if nature was left to its own accord, would not happen.”

Gentry said he continues to fish and boat on the lake and has ever since the fish kill was first reported.

SCDNR and SCDES have collected water and fish samples for analysis.

Anyone with information or further reports regarding the investigation are asked to call SCDNR’s 24-hour phone line at 800-922-5431.