UConn sucks dry Fenton River, Fish Die by the Thousands

STORRS -- The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating whether the University of Connecticut has stayed within its permit to pump water from the Fenton River after discovering that a nearly mile-long stretch has been sucked dry, killing thousands of fish.

The DEP is checking whether UConn has exceeded its limit of 844,300 gallons a day. State environmental officials also want the university to implement mandatory conservation measures on campus and cut back on its reliance on the Fenton, instead tapping more water from its other source, the Willimantic River.

Rivers in Connecticut are running well below normal levels because of the drought this summer, but the situation is extreme at the Fenton, which supports a managed trout population.