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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- High levels of nitrate are believed responsible for hundreds of dead trout found last week in Parleys Creek.
But officials still don't know how the chemical -- common in fertilizer -- got into the water.
A station near Sugar House Park showed nitrate levels of 21.05 milligrams per liter. Nitrates of 4 milligrams per liter are toxic to cold-water fish.
About 500 Bonneville cutthroat trout found dead in the creek at Parleys Nature Park near the mouth of Parleys Canyon on June 26. The highest nitrate level previously recorded on Parleys Creek was 0.8.
Officials say the spike in nitrate levels points to some kind of dump or spill. But they say there would not have been any danger for humans or dogs swimming in the creek around June 26.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
