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Marley Cooling Tower Company February 7, 2003 Groundwater Treatment System San Joaquin County Inspection Report Receiving Water Inspection At the time of the inspection, the water in the canal was slow-moving, with no foaming, scum, or floating materials noted at the outfall location. No live fish were noted in the water at any of the locations we visited. No dead fish were observed in the canal in the immediate vicinity of the outfall location. Warden Oldfather informed us that some dead fish were located downstream, at the railroad bridge crossing south of the Fremont Street bridge, and that most of the dead fish she observed were located downstream from that, at the remains of an old concrete weir. At the railroad bridge, approximately 5,800 feet downstream of the outfall, approximately 100 dead fish were observed. The fish appeared to be mainly large carp, a few catfish, and smaller sunfish -type fish. A whitish, hardened film was noted on the surface of the water near the edge of the canal in this location, and a whitish flocculant material was noted on the rocks under the water. _ r F Approximately 6,600 feet downstream of the outfall there is a small concrete weir foundation across the creek. During periods of lower water flow, such as during the time period of the spill, the weir acts a dam across the canal. Water flows over the weir, but at the time of our visit, the water flowing over the weir was only several inches deep. The DFG personnel surmised that most of the dead fish were located in this region as the fish were essentially trapped upstream of the weir as they tried to flee the increasingly unsuitable water upstream caused by the discharge. Some fish were probably also killed upstream and washed downstream to accumulate at the weir. Eventually the pH in the water in the canal itself and in the small pool above the weir became alkaline to the point where the fish could not survive. The DFG biologist said that a pH above 10 is acutely toxic to most fish. Deltakeeper's field measurements indicated that the pH in this pool was 10.58 at 1:40 pm on 19 September 2002, approximately 54 hours after the high pH discharge ceased, and 43 hours after the neutral pH effluent discharge began again from the system restart. Warden Oldfather counted in excess of 600 dead fish at this location. Ms. Morgan and Warden Oldfather indicated that they noted dead fish as far downstream as the Waterloo Road (Highway 99) Bridge, where they began their inspection of the canal. The DFG requested