Trout production continues at Roaring River Hatchery after major flooding at the park July 7th. The Missouri Department of Conservation says after two days of the park being closed for cleanup, people were fishing at Roaring River.
Heavy rains last week caused Roaring River to rise four feet in just ten minutes. According to the department, a series of flood gates regulates the spring’s flow into the hatchery’s pools, and the flow must remain constant to ensure trout survival. In a news release, the department says, “during the period when the flood-swollen spring was gushing forth more than 100 million gallons per day (normal flow is 20 million gallons daily), this was a challenge.” Other concerns were keeping oxygen levels constant and preventing silt and mud from washing into pools and raceways. Despite that, the park’s hatchery manager, Paul Spurgeon, says no fish were lost during the floods.
Many trout were washed out to surrounding areas and got stuck, but hatchery staff collected the fish and released them back into the river, according to the department.
While hatchery personnel worked to get trout production operations back to normal, other MDC staff cleared debris out of the stream, moved rock and gravel and hauled away more than 40 loads of debris.
