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Hundreds of fish died in Tacony Creek. Illegal dumping is suspected.

The first reports of dead fish came in Thursday afternoon at Adams Avenue and Crescentville Road on the Crescentville-Frankford border.

One of hundreds of fish that died in Tacony Creek.
One of hundreds of fish that died in Tacony Creek.Read moreRyan Neuman - Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership

Hundreds of fish were found dead this week in the Tacony Creek off Roosevelt Boulevard and a nonprofit group believes it was likely caused by illegal chemical dumping.

The first reports of dead fish came in Thursday afternoon at Adams Avenue and Crescentville Road in Olney. The fish kill ran south from the intersection.

Most of the fish were bluegill, sunfish, white suckers, mummichog, and shiners.

Justin DiBerardinis, executive director of the Tookany / Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership, said live fish were returning to the location by Friday afternoon, and the worst appeared to have passed.

Children were once again swimming in the water trying to escape the high temperatures and humidity that pushed the heat index to 105 degrees.

“We can’t say what caused it. I can’t say anything definitive,” DiBerardinis said. “But there’s a variety of possibilities.”

Chief among them, he said, is that someone possibly dumped a chemical, or chemicals, into a sewer outfall that lies just north of the site, which is rimmed by woods to the east and apartments, a shopping center, and playground to the west.

“These storm drains go right into the creek,” DiBerardinis said.

It’s unlikely that the chemicals came from known industries further upstream, or the fish kill would have extended north, he said.

So DiBerardinis assumes it would have been someone mobile, dumping off the back of a truck or vehicle.

The fish kill would be reported to police, he said, only if someone managed to see whomever might have dumped the chemicals or taken pictures or video.

“There are some big combined sewer outfalls right around there,” he said. “There’s one just above Adams Avenue, which makes that a potential culprit.”

The Tookany / Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership frequently works with police to track illegal dumpers. DiBerardinis said it’s very difficult to catch polluters, and the partnership relies on the public. The fish kill was circulated on a post on the Citizen app.

“Today is a hot day,” DiBerardinis said Friday afternoon. “And there are kids swimming there. These toxic chemicals that get poured into drains go to where our kids play.”