Haven't seen anything posted here as yet so I wanted to update people on things.
If you don't already know this back on May 31st a gasoline tanker-truck owned by JP Noonan overturned on the Mystic Valley Parkway at the intersection with Medford Street. According to Arlington Police Chief the tanker was coming on to Route 60 from Medford via the bridge over the Mystic River into Arlington when it failed to negotiate the rotary and flipped. A state Department of Environmental Protection official said that the tanker was carrying about 9,500 gallons of diesel with "several thousand gallons" ending up in the Mystic River. You can read a bit about the clean-up here:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/06/01/mystic-valley-parkway-reopens-after-more-than-gallons-gas-spilled-crash-friday/cGKrdy44uJhSydArtBGRsM/story.html
I live a short distance from the location of the spill and regularly fish the area around it so I went out last weekend to check on the situation and gauge the impact on the River. At that point the clean-up crews had a number of booms set up: one upstream of the spill about 100 yards above the bridge towards the lake with a series of booms being located downstream at points to about 1/2 a mile downriver. You can see some of them here:
From a layman's perspective the booms seemed to be doing a good job and there was no noticeable oil or similar film on the surface when I checked things out. In addition there had been recent heavy rain so there was a strong current in the river with water levels being about 2 feet higher than normal. Water quality was actually not bad, discolored mostly from the rain and you could detect a faint diesel smell in the air. It's my hope that between the sunshine and considerable rain we've experienced over the last week that any remaining oil has been flushed out of the storm drains and downriver.
I didn't see any evidence of a fish kill but admittedly, checking things out a week after the event meant probably any had been flushed downstream... No sign of Alewife but did see a number of bluegills in the shallows staying out of the current... no signs of bass although I did get one hard strike downriver just beyond the oil booms... The water chestnuts and lily-pads are filling in but there was no sign of oil residue or dead plant life. Again, I'm hoping the heavy rain and current action is "scrubbing" things clean but the water vegetation looks pretty good. That being said I did see some big fish up in Lower Mystic Lake cruising the shoreline, not surprising considering the high water levels.
So in short, it looks like there hasn't been great impact on the fishing situation and I hope to get out tomorrow or Sunday to check again.
FYI.
If you don't already know this back on May 31st a gasoline tanker-truck owned by JP Noonan overturned on the Mystic Valley Parkway at the intersection with Medford Street. According to Arlington Police Chief the tanker was coming on to Route 60 from Medford via the bridge over the Mystic River into Arlington when it failed to negotiate the rotary and flipped. A state Department of Environmental Protection official said that the tanker was carrying about 9,500 gallons of diesel with "several thousand gallons" ending up in the Mystic River. You can read a bit about the clean-up here:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/06/01/mystic-valley-parkway-reopens-after-more-than-gallons-gas-spilled-crash-friday/cGKrdy44uJhSydArtBGRsM/story.html
I live a short distance from the location of the spill and regularly fish the area around it so I went out last weekend to check on the situation and gauge the impact on the River. At that point the clean-up crews had a number of booms set up: one upstream of the spill about 100 yards above the bridge towards the lake with a series of booms being located downstream at points to about 1/2 a mile downriver. You can see some of them here:
From a layman's perspective the booms seemed to be doing a good job and there was no noticeable oil or similar film on the surface when I checked things out. In addition there had been recent heavy rain so there was a strong current in the river with water levels being about 2 feet higher than normal. Water quality was actually not bad, discolored mostly from the rain and you could detect a faint diesel smell in the air. It's my hope that between the sunshine and considerable rain we've experienced over the last week that any remaining oil has been flushed out of the storm drains and downriver.
I didn't see any evidence of a fish kill but admittedly, checking things out a week after the event meant probably any had been flushed downstream... No sign of Alewife but did see a number of bluegills in the shallows staying out of the current... no signs of bass although I did get one hard strike downriver just beyond the oil booms... The water chestnuts and lily-pads are filling in but there was no sign of oil residue or dead plant life. Again, I'm hoping the heavy rain and current action is "scrubbing" things clean but the water vegetation looks pretty good. That being said I did see some big fish up in Lower Mystic Lake cruising the shoreline, not surprising considering the high water levels.
So in short, it looks like there hasn't been great impact on the fishing situation and I hope to get out tomorrow or Sunday to check again.
FYI.
Is that why those boons are there? I was on Lower Mystic on Sunday and things seems normal. Did see one dead fish and that was a giant striper. Wanted to go down the river but the boons stop me. My biggest of the day came underneath a boon so I don't think there is anything to worry about. Fish were actually still on the beds there, what temps were only 61-63 degrees.
Yup, that's why they're there: 18-wheeler tried taking the corner 'round the rotary too fast, the wheels pinched and she flipped. Some witnesses said the fuel was pouring out like a fire hydrant... Not sure of the booms are still there but I won't be surprised if they're gone by this weekend: I'd think they've done their job at this point and I know will want access to Lower Mystic Lake this weekend to fish, tube, etc... Also, the water has been slow to warm up and LML has a reputation for that, doesn't really turn on until July... Not surprised about the striper, similarly saw a dead one by the bridge a few years back, had to be about 20 lbs.