The difference I saw in a local creek over just 5 years is honestly frightening

I live near a small creek in Ohio that I used to fish in as a kid. Back then it had clear water, plenty of minnows and crawdads, and the banks were full of wildflowers and bushes. Fast forward to last weekend, I went back to check it out and it's almost unrecognizable. The water is murky brown, the banks are eroded like crazy, and I didn't see a single fish or bug in 20 minutes of looking. I asked around and found out a housing development went in upstream about 3 years ago, plus the summers have gotten hotter and storms way more intense. All that runoff from lawns and pavement, plus the heat, just killed the life in there. It made me wonder, has anyone else watched a local waterway change that fast from development and weather shifts? What did you do about it?

2 comments

2 Comments

felix_black1mo ago

Development ALWAYS changes everything downstream, nobody thinks about the creek until it's dead.

noahmartin1mo ago

My creek died and now I just have a muddy spot where my childhood was.