Recent fish die-offs in Georgia indicate water issues

WUGA | By Havivah Saltz

Published October 10, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT

Dead fish floating in a Flint River tributary near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. — Dead fish in a Flint River tributary near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

A fish kill is a mass die-off of fish. Georgia saw two last month; one near Hartsfield‑Jackson Atlanta International Airport following a sewage spill, and one at Radium Springs in Albany due to environmental factors. To find out more, WUGA’s Havivah Saltz sat down with Jay Shelton, retired professor of fisheries at UGA.

If you see a fish kill, you can report it to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Emergency Hotline at 1-800-241-4113.

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Havivah Saltz

Havivah Saltz has been with WUGA since 2023 as an on-air host and the producer for African Perspectives. She got her start in radio on WOBC FM at Oberlin College (class of ‘23), and she’s also worked as an on-air host on Athens' Power 100.1 and Magic 102.1. She is currently the interim producer of Athens News Matters. Outside of work, you can find Havivah making art, writing fiction, practicing Japanese, petting her very round cat, and watching concerning amounts of TV.

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