FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 9, 2019) - The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources on Monday finished gathering necessary information to begin calculating the estimated losses of fish and other aquatic life in the Kentucky River following last week’s bourbon warehouse fire in Woodford County.
Data entry and analysis could take several weeks.
A plume of oxygen-depleted water several miles long killed fish and other aquatic life as it traveled downriver. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife crews conducted counts from July 5-8, and observed thousands of dead and distressed fish from Pool 3 near Frankfort downstream to the confluence with the Ohio River near Carrollton.
At this time, Fisheries personnel are shifting their attention to tabulating and analyzing the substantial amount of data from their counts to arrive at an estimated total impact to aquatic life.
The affected water plume is expected to dissipate quickly as moves from the Kentucky River into the much larger and faster moving Ohio River. Residents along the lower Kentucky River and Ohio River downstream of Carrollton may see dead fish, which should decompose and sink within a few days.