Hundreds of fish dead after water drains from a Granite Falls pond

CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — Channel 9 has reported on problem after problem at a Caldwell County bridge.

First, the bridge was closed for damage. Then, the bridge partially collapsed and daredevils used ramps to jump it.

[PAST COVERAGE: Barriers put up after thrill-seekers jump collapsed bridge]

(RAW VIDEO: Motorcycle riders jump across Mill Pond Bridge in Granite Falls)

Now, the water has been drained and thousands of fish have been killed.

One neighbor said that in just one day the water dropped nearly 20-feet killing hundreds of fish at the Mill Pond in Granite Falls.

"Everything white down there is dead fish," Granite Falls homeowner Jerry Richardson said.

Richardson showed Channel 9 the dead fish behind his home.

He had hoped to fish there this summer with his grandchildren but instead scrambled to save the fish as the water began to drop.

"Tried to get down there and throw some of the bigger fish back in the water but the mid bottom kind of made it an impossible situation," Richardson said.

For eight months, the bridge nearby on Falls Avenue that crosses the Mill Pond has been closed.

[PAST COVERAGE: Caldwell County bridge closed for repairs collapses]

The pylons underneath the 70-year-old bridge were so badly damaged, the state decided to replace it this spring.

The town of Granite Falls lowered the water after the engineering firm handling the replacement asked for the pond to be drained.

"Pretty shocked to see it like this. I've lived here for 40 years and never seen it like this," resident Lisa Cooper said.

People who showed up at the Mill Pond Friday, like Chris Smith and his son, had no idea all of the water would be released from the dam.

"We were like, 'Where's all the water at,'" Smith said.

Many of those who live in the area and have to drive miles out of the way because of the closed bridge had hoped it could be fixed without this.

"I guess they decided they had to drain it, and they have. I hope they get it done soon," resident Russell Boone said.

The Department of Transportation said it will take a year for the bridge over the Mill Pond to be replaced.

It has not been released how long the water is going to stay down.

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