City sewer overflow leads to massive fish kill at Lake Newport

YOUNGSTOWN — City Health Commissioner Erin Bishop today urged anglers not to eat any live fish they catch in Mill Creek Park’s lakes Newport, Cohasset or Glacier or in Mill Creek downstream from any of these lakes due to a massive fish kill in Lake Newport.

“I would say wait until it’s cleaned up,” before eating the fish, Bishop said, referring to the mess caused by the dead fish.

The fish kill was caused by a combined storm and sanitary sewer overflow from the city’s system during recent heavy rains, which depleted the dissolved oxygen in the water, which is essential to fish survival.

Because the problem was caused by the city sewer system, the city health department cannot investigate because it would be a conflict of interest, Bishop said.

The stench of decaying dead fish littering the shores of Lake Newport is notable along the shoreline in the hot weather, and dead fish have flowed downstream into the Mill Creek Gorge and lakes Cohasset and Glacier.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources have been investigating the fish kill.

Despite the mess, the boat rental at Lake Newport was open for business as usual Saturday and Sunday.