'Do Not Eat' Advisory Issued In Wissahickon Watershed, Trout Stocking Canceled

AMBLER, PA — A "do not eat" advisory has been issued for the Wissahickon Creek watershed and all trout stocking has been canceled following the detection of high levels of the "forever chemical" perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS.

The do not eat advisory applies to all fish in the Wissahickon Creek basin, spanning both Philadelphia and Montgomery County, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said.

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Sampled fish tissue contained more than 0.04 parts per million of PFOS, which is the state's safety level for consumption. It is not known what exactly the actual reading was, and Patch has reached out to state officials for more precise details.

Trout stocking that had been planned in the Wissahickon for Oct. 15 has been canceled. There are not plans to reschedule it this year.

The Fish and Boat Commission will hold a public meeting on Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education to address the "loss of angler opportunity on this stream and gather public input on future options."

The Wissahickon Creek watershed includes numerous streams throughout Montgomery County, Plymouth, Whitemarsh, Whitpain, and the far reaches of Philadelphia.

Some adjacent, well established waterways in the Wissahickon basin include Sandy Run, Pine Run, Trewellyn Creek, Prophecy Creek, Cresheim Creek, Monoshone Creek, Willow Run , Rose Valley Creek, Paper Mill Run, Lorraine Run, Gorgas Run, Carpenter's Run, Andorra Run, Bells Mill Run, Thomas Mill Run, Cathedral Run, Hartwell Run, Wises Mill Run, Valley Green Run, Sunny Brook, Arlingham Run, and Tannery Run.

Forever chemicals have been around since the 1940s to make products resistant to water and heat such as cookware, carpets, furniture fabrics, and more. They're perhaps most well known among health and environmental activists for their inclusion in firefighting foams, which has leaked into groundwater in many areas, including at Naval Air Station Willow Grove in Montgomery County.

This is a breaking story. More information will be provided as it becomes available.