The Effects of Sewage Pollution on the Fish Population of a Midwestern Stream

Abstract

Collections of fish were made in LytleCreek, Clinton County, Ohio, to determine the effect of the partially treated domestic sewage of Wilmington, Ohio, on the fish populations of this stream. The farther the collecting localities were downstream from the plant effluent, the greater were the numbers of species and individu.als found. In the septic areas, immediately below the effluent, no fish were observed or collected. Two miles below, in the recovery zone, an average of 1.2 species and 2.2 individuals were taken per collection, with 8 different species represented. Three miles below, also in the recovery zone, 12 species were represented in our collections, with a mean of 1.7 species and 10.8 individuals per collection. In the lower portion of the recovery zone, 4.4 miles below the effluent, 32 species were taken, with a mean of 12.7 species and 197 individuals. In the clean-water zone, 36 species were taken, with a mean of 16.7 species and 294 individuals. No species could be used as indicators of pollution although several were relatively tolerant of unfavorable conditions. The various species of darters and black bass were highly sensitive and their presence was usually indicative of favorable conditions. During the winter when the stream flow was at a maximum and the dissolved oxygen was adequate in all sections of the stream, the fish failed to move into the areas they found intolerable during the summer periods of low flow. 157 DESCRIPTION OF LYTLE CREEK Lytle Creek lies about 45 miles northeast of Cincinnati, in Clinton County, Ohio, and flows into Todd's Fork, which is part of the Little Miami River system. It is a permanent stream, approximately 11 miles long, 3 to 35 feet wide during low-water stages, and drains a watershed of about 27 square miles. The depth of the stream varies from a few inches in the riffles to more than 6 feet in a few pools. The average gradient is 25 feet per mile. The base level of Lytle Creek lies within a meander belt of alluvial origin, the Genessee silt loam. The stream runs through Wisconsin glacial till, except for a short section located about 3 miles from the mouth, where it cuts down to Ordovician limestone. The principal sources of flow are drainage from adjacent agricultural areas and the effluent of the Wilmington Sewage Treatment Plant, which enters the stream about 7 miles above its mouth. The Sewage Treatment Plant serves the 7,000 inhabitants of Wilmington, Ohio, a non-industrial community. The sewage is treated by a chemical precipitation process, which removes most of the solids and reduces the biochemical oxygen demand of the wastes by about 50 percent. By the time the partially treated wastes are discharged to the stream, decomposition is well advanced, and little or no dissolved oxygen is present in the plant effluent. During normal low flows, the effluent comprises 80 to 90 percent of the total stream volume, causing septic conditions immediately below the outlet.Lytle Creek is deemed particularly favorable for study because it has only one major source ...

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“…In almost all cascs tlicrc is a rcdoction in the diversity of the resident fish community f r o m cadi type of impact. The literature contains many cxaniplcs of dccreases in fish community diversity due to physical impacts (Etnier, 1972;Edwards, 1978;Richards, 1976;Spcncc and Hynes, 1971), chemical impacts (Katz andGaufin, 1053, Smith, 1971 ;Tsai, 1973), biological impacts (Holdcn and Stalnaker, 1975;Smith, 1970), and watershed impacts (Cordone and Kelley, 1961). The impact on a stable, maturc community with high diversity and evenness is a reduction in the number of species, while the populations of a few tolerant species are enhanced.…”

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