GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) - Grand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant workers have been spending the month of October removing fish that are unintentionally caught every summer.
Wastewater plant operations engineer Dong Hyun Chon told the Grand Island Independent that about 70 fish have been collected at the plant this year, the majority being carp.
Fish enter the plant from a nearby Grant Island utilities ditch, which is connected to the Wood River.
Fish are drawn to warm temperatures, swimming against the water flow and ending up in the plant’s ultraviolet disinfection facility between May and October each year, Chon said. During those months, wastewater is diverted into the facility to kill bacteria through ultraviolet light exposure.
The remainder of the year, fish usually only make it as far as the discharge point.
Every October, plant employees remove the fish from a discharge point and return them to the utilities ditch.
Once returned to their natural environment, the fish will wind up far away from the plant.
“And we’re glad they do. We keep them alive so they can make it all the way,” said Jon Menough, a wastewater plant engineer.
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Information from: The Grand Island Independent, http://www.theindependent.com
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