A Bioassessment of the Fish Populations in the Ohio River Near Zimmer and Beckjord Power Plants

Indianapolis, IN

The primary objective of this on-going research study was to determine the potential impacts of the Zimmer and Beckjord Coal-burning Power Plants on the Ohio River ecosystem. Population data was collected by the use off electrofishing, hoop nets, and gill nets. The Ohio River Fish Index (ORFIN) was also calculated for the community of fish collected. Overall, at Zimmer Power Plant the downstream and upstream were comparable in terms of abundance, biomass, and the ORFIN, but the downstream did contain a higher abundance of individuals collected. Beckjord Power Plant was also comparable in regards to the species abundance, biomass, and ORFIN index, but also exhibited similar trends in respect to higher individual abundance in the upstream zones. The physiochemical data reflected an atypical seasonal range and fluctuation in Ohio River levels due to an abnormally rainy summer, however the temperatures of both the air and water remained within normal range. Turbidity levels, as measured by a Secchi disk (m), were typical levels for the Ohio River during the high river levels. Overall, these results were consistent with the data from previous years and suggest that the Zimmer Power Plant nor Beckjord Power Plant is having no significant impact on the ecosystem of the Ohio River near the power plants.