coosa river at werumpka, al

[cherok9878]

is there anyone who can give any info on this part of the river. People have told me that fish from this river system should not be consumed, is this correct?

[ashvillerob]

I am guessing you mean Wetumka AL. The fishing in the Coosa river is pretty good most anywhere. And yes there is a fish advisor for eating the fish. I personally would not consume any type of fish caught from I-20(St. Claire County) southward. Choccoolocoo creek flows into the river just below I-20 and that creek was the primary source for the river contamination via PCBs being dumped into the creek by Monsanto Chemicals in Anniston , AL in the 80s.

There are alot of people who do eat fish from Lake Logan Martin, Lay etc, and they always say, "I have eaten those fish for years and have never gotten sick" what they do not realize is that PCBs build up in the body over time and led to cancer. You could eat fish contaminated with PCBs for several years and never have a single symptom and then ten years later die from cancer.

[cherok9878]

Ashvillerob.......Your post generated much interest with myself and my friends. In answer to your response!! In accordance with the Alabama Department of Health, Fish Consumption Advisories, The upper reaches of the coosa, site of the Monsanto PCB spill, dumping, degredation or what ever you wish to call it. The area in direct proximity to the Monsanto dumping site is declaired a "NO CONSUMPTION AREA". Areas below this site have varing degrees of consumption warnings applied to species of fish. There are no consumption advisories "In Accordance With - Alabama Public Health Dapartment". For any waters below Lay Lake on the Coosa River System. Anyone wishing to contact the Alabama Department of Public Health may do so at this # - 1-800-201-8206. The web site for ADPH was unresponsive for the consumption advisories page. Thanks, Ashvillerob, for your comments. they required me to do a little more research. I hope this post will help relieve some of the concerns on fish consumption in the Coosa River System.
thanks..................larry

[LakeHardingSpirit]

Sounds like Columbus, people always say, "you aren't gonna eat those fish, are you" in reference to eating the fish from the local river.

[reelcrappie]

I hear the same remarks from people about West Point lake but I still eat the fish. Who knows? I'm 64 years old and the last I heard was aint none of us getting out of this world alive. I did catch a mess in the rain last year and caught a cold but I don't think it came from eating the fish.

[lmc]

Yeah, the crappie consumption advisory was lifted for most of Logan Martin in February, 2005. The crappie tested clean of PCBs in the 2001 test, but had to test clean again before they'd lift the ban. The advisory remains in effect for bass and catfish.

As Larry stated there's a spot advisory for areas up Choccolocco creek near Monsanto. I got this info from the Birmingham News a couple months ago.