Water-release error kills fish in Bucks County

Bucks County workers cleaning trash from behind the Robin Run Dam in Buckingham Township accidentally released too much water, polluting the stream bed below with sediment, officials said yesterday. The muck that settled in Robin Run Creek for a distance of 2,000 feet caused thousands of fish to suffocate.

The spill will be cleaned up starting today, said Jerry Anderson, director of operations for the county's general services department, and work could take several days.

The dead fish were found by a fisherman early this week, said Richard Myers, citizen action coordinator for the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, a nonprofit group that monitors the river and its tributaries. The state's Department of Environmental Protection, the Bucks County Conservation District, and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission ordered a halt to the water release Tuesday. The county complied.

- Bonnie L. Cook