SPRINGDALE -- The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment hasn't determined what killed thousands of fish Wednesday in a creek in downtown Springdale.
Morgan Acuff, a spokesman for the state department, said staff members were investigating the incident but haven't released any information.
A city employee Wednesday morning found large and small fish dead in Spring Creek, which travels through downtown Springdale. He also noticed a smell of ammonia.
Chad Wolf, director of Springdale's Parks and Recreation Department, said Michael Kolke, a trails superintendent for the department, reported the kill to the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality and the Illinois River Watershed Project.
The Energy and Environment department works as part of Environmental Quality. The Illinois River group didn't return a phone call.
Kolke said walkers along the trail notified him of the dead fish.
Wolf said he is unsure as to which agency is responsible for cleanup. The U.S. Corps of Engineers has responsibility for creeks in the state, he said.
A call to the Corps office in Rogers wasn't returned Wednesday afternoon.
Springdale Water Utilities found no reported spills of ammonia from the local manufacturing plants, said Heath Ward, executive director of the utility. He said the wastewater treatment plant staff did not detect any ammonia coming through the plant.
The Springdale Fire Department had not received any calls to that area, according to an email from Capt. Matt Bagley, a spokesman for the department. He noted that the spill was not a hazardous materials spill.
