Conewago Creek restricted, fish dead after chemical fire runoff leaks into waters
Recreation, water use restricted in parts of York and Adams counties


Sean Smith loves to fish in Conewago Creek next to his Reading Township home, but Wednesday morning, his "pristine bit of water" was something else entirely.

Dead fish floated near the shore. Dead minnows rode a current stained brown and purple downstream.

"It's hundreds and hundreds of fish," Smith said. "It's an ecological disaster in the Conewago."

Officials said nitrates released into the water after an Adams County fertilizer business caught fire Monday killed between 5,000 and 10,000 fish on the Conewago by Wednesday afternoon. And the number could grow as the contamination moves downstream toward the Susquehanna River, said Waterways Conservation Officer Dan Nietupski.

The contamination prompted Adams County to prohibit swimming, fishing or boating in the creek where it runs through six townships and boroughs. York County said people should avoid those activities in eight municipalities bordering the creek.

John Eline, director of Adams County's Emergency Services, said the heavy concentration of nitrates, though not toxic to humans, is suffocating aquatic life.

Miller Chemical has not said publicly what specifically was in the plant when fire destroyed it Monday. It has not publicly said what chemicals might have mixed with the water that firefighters poured on the blaze.

Carol Woolcock, who has lived on Green Ridge Road, near the creek, for 30 years, said she had never seen anything like it.

"A few dead fish once in a while float downstream, but we've never seen anything like this," she said. "There were huge carp that were just floating down, dead. ... We see carp jump out of the creek, you know, make a big splash. But you never see them floating down, dead, like that."


It might take about a week for what's in the water to "wash downstream and/or dissipate," Eline said.

Asked why the ban on boating and swimming would remain in place, Eline said though nitrates are not toxic to humans, they are still a contaminant.

"There's still a discoloration and an odor," Eline said, advising that people should follow the restrictions in place for swimming, fishing and boating until further notice.

Eline said the county will advise municipalities to take down names and contact information for any owners of contaminated well water to be passed along to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

John Repetz, spokesman for the state's Department of Environmental Protection, said people who are on well water in the affected areas should have their water tested. People who are on municipal water, he said, don't need to worry about their drinking water.

Reading Township Administrator Marcia Weaver said several people have called the township to ask if their water is safe.

She quoted county officials who said properly encased wells would not be at risk for contamination. But, she said, water testing is the well owner's responsibility.

"All we can do is advise that if well water looks discolored, they need to stop drinking it and go have it tested," she said.

New Oxford Municipal Authority, which provides water to New Oxford as well as Oxford, Hamilton and Berwick townships, takes its water from the creek. It said it planned to use other water until the creek is clear of chemicals.

To conserve its alternate water supply, officials asked residents to use only the water they need — not to water their lawns, for example.

Lingering hot spots


Firefighters fought the blaze in the early morning hours before deciding it was best to let the building burn. Monday afternoon, they resumed fighting it and put the fire out by about 4 p.m. During the day, they built a retention pond and a dam to try to prevent runoff.

The fire, which raged for more than 12 hours, was still not totally extinguished even as late as Tuesday evening.

Eline said that firefighters returned to the ruins of Miller Chemical three times on the evening of June 9 to prevent re-ignition in areas of the rubble that were previously inaccessible to crews.

"I believe that the ecosystems, in the Conewago, in Reading Township, are going to be greatly affected," said Gary Bullock, the emergency management coordinator for Reading Township. "Because the small fish, that the bass feed on, have been killed to a greater extent than the larger fish.

"As far as the food chain goes, they're the lowest thing, the minnows are, and then the bass. People fish for bass here. The carp ... the children fish for them more than anything. And it's greatly affected them. They'll probably come back. But it will be awhile."

Evening Sun reporters Eric Blum, Lillian Reed and Brandon Stoneburg and York Daily Record/Sunday News reporters Dylan Segelbaum and Flint McColgan and Sunday editor Scott Blanchard contributed to this report.

Affected areas

York and Adams county officials have said people in the following municipalities should not swim, boat or fish in the Conewago Creek in the following municipalities:

York County

Paradise Township

Dover Township

Washington Township

Warrington Township

Conewago Township

Newberry Township

East Manchester Township

York Haven

East Berlin

Adams County

Hamilton Township

Mt. Pleasant Township

New Oxford

Oxford Township

Reading Township