A significant Apple Creek fish kill is creating greater concern for the Burleigh County Water Resource Board over the State Water Commission's permitting of taking water from Apple Creek.

Officials from the North Dakota Department of Health and the state Game and Fish Department met with the Burleigh water board Tuesday to discuss the fish kill occurring over the winter on Apple Creek's east branch.

The fish kill was reported by Donna Bliss, an organic farmer with property near Apple Creek. The Department of Health followed up and discovered a significant fish kill had occurred on the east branch of Apple Creek, according to Michael Ell, a member of the Division of Water Quality.

"This is the first documented fish kill we've had at Apple Creek," Paul Bailey, South Central District Fisheries Supervisor for the Game and Fish Department said.

Two likely possibilities for the fish kill are a lack of water in the creek under the ice or low oxygen levels. The latter could occur if too much ice and snow covered the creek, not allowing enough sunlight through for photosynthesis by the plant life, which provides oxygen.

"We're not sure which one occurred at Apple Creek," Ell said. "Either dewatering or low oxygen levels."

Both of the situations are remedied by increased flows, water board Chairman Ken Royse said.

Game and Fish has electro-shocking equipment it wants to test, and wants to use it on the portion of Apple Creek where the fish kill appears to have happened. This will tell whether fish and other aquatic life have returned to the area.

Twenty-four different species of fish have been identified in the Apple Creek system, according to Game and Fish Aquatic Habitat Supervisor Scott Elstad.

Royse said he was concerned that the problem might be related to pollution. But Ell said that pesticide information was collected and nothing was detected through the screening.

Dave Bliss, attorney for the water board, said his family has a mile or two of Apple Creek running through their property.

"I've never seen a fish kill like that in all the years I've been around. I'm sure my dad did back in the 1930s," Bliss said. "We've got carp laying all over the place, and I've got some photos of the dry creek bed. It's not an issue of minimum flows, it's no flow."

Last month the water board aired some concerns over the SWC granting temporary permits allowing water to be taken from Apple Creek for industrial use. The SWC isn't required to involve the water board when temporary permits are issued, Royse said. The board is planning to have a follow-up meeting with the SWC in June about Apple Creek.

"This is sort of a sensitive issue with the SWC," Royse said. "The temporary permit does not create a water right, and are limited to taking water during spring runoff. It doesn't seem unreasonable."

Other water board members are worried that senior appropriators - property owners along Apple Creek who use the water for irrigation - may be deprived of some water.

The water board is also looking at Apple Creek as a possible source of water for McDowell Dam. The recreation-area lake could draw water from the creek during the spring runoff to fill it when it isn't adequately provided for through its own watershed.

When the board meets with the SWC, the issue of minimum stream-flow for Apple Creek will be brought up, according to Royse.

There currently are flow standards for Apple Creek, Ell said, but if the water board wanted to establish an in-stream standard it could undertake an expensive study to do so.

Ell suggested that the water board partner with a federal agency, such as the Bureau of Reclamation or U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Local agencies such as the Department of Health or Game and Fish don't have the technical expertise for these types of studies.

As far as cleanup after the recent fish kill, Bailey said that usually takes care of itself before "swimsuit season," as other animals and insects make meals of the remains.