As the City of Lawton works to fix problems at its wastewater treatment plant, conditions downstream have taken a turn for the worse. The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has issued that says the water quality in East Cache Creek is killing fish.
The notice cites an anonymous complaint about dead fish at Sultan Park in Walters, about 25 miles downstream of the Lawton Wastewater Treatment Plant. The DEQ sent an investigator, who found 8 dead fish there and 20 more between the park and the confluence of Ninemile Creek and East Cache Creek.
The notice says this fishkill happened at the same time the plant was releasing treated wastewater with high levels of ammonia — higher levels than fish can tolerate.
Tito Lindsey is the Comanche Nation’s water quality coordinator. He said Walters officials let him know about the fishkill just before the tribe’s annual powwow in Sultan Park on July 20.
“During our powwow, normally when they're camping, they'll go down and swim, because it is really hot down there,” Lindsey said.
But high E. coli levels meant the water could make people sick, so posted notices warned attendees to stay out of the creek. Lindsey said the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has posted signs saying it’s not safe to fish all along the creek.
Lindsey has been collecting water quality samples along East Cache Creek for about two years. He said he hasn’t seen a fishkill like this before.
The Lawton Wastewater Treatment Plant has been having equipment problems since at least 2017 and has been out of compliance with the state since 2021. The city is currently working on a plan to update the facility and move it out of a floodplain.
The plant is operating under a consent order with the DEQ. That means the Lawton officials have developed a plan to fix the plant’s problems and get back into compliance with environmental standards.
In the meantime, the plant can keep releasing treated wastewater that doesn’t meet those standards — the alternative would be to shut down Lawton’s sewage system for months. The first phase of the plant’s $370 million improvement plan is expected to bring it into compliance by August 2025.
“Despite the recent [Notice of Violation], the City of Lawton continues to make significant progress in improving its WWTP,” a press release from the city said in response to the July fishkill.
Hot temperatures, drought and agricultural runoff can also affect stream quality.
“We can't just point it to that because, you know, it's Mother Nature,” said Christina Cooper, the Comanche Nation’s Director of Environment Programs. “There's other sources of pollution in the waters as well.”
Cooper said state regulators have projected that once the pollution from the wastewater treatment plant clears up, the ecosystems will likely bounce back over a matter of months.
“As it starts to get better, the habitat will kind of just reset itself,” Cooper said. “Eventually we'll start seeing better waters, better conditions and more aquatic life as we start to see less and less pollution.”
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