More than 100 dead fish are floating in a muddy corner of the Baker Wetlands south of Lawrence.

The sight of the fish alarmed members of Save the Wetlands, a group fighting a plan to route the South Lawrence Trafficway through the area. Two officials, however, say there’s probably nothing to worry about.

The apparent cause of the dead fish, found near the southwest corner of 31st Street and Haskell Avenue, is as follows:

Douglas County Rural Water District No. 4 had a leak in a water line about three weeks ago. To get to the source of the problem, workers drained a canal in the area by removing a beaver dam near the intersection.

The district has a right to be there, manager Scott Schultz said Monday. It has an easement on that piece of land and a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“Hopefully human life will triumph over animal life,” he said.

The removal of the dam left about one-fifth of the water level, said Roger Boyd, who manages the wetlands for Baker University. That, combined with warm weather, lead to more bacterial activity, less oxygen in the water and, ultimately, dead fish.

Boyd won’t rule out the possibility of pollution because the area is close to a handful of businesses. But he said he didn’t think that was what happened.

The canal houses mainly carp and bullhead.

“I wouldn’t say it’s any big concern at all because those fish will be easily repopulated this coming spring and summer,” he said. “This has happened twice before in the past 10 years as far as I can recall.”

Environmentalists and wetlands advocates, however, are concerned. After someone raised the issue Saturday at a meeting of a new group called Save the Wetlands, group coordinator Don Phipps took a look and was shocked.

At least 100 dead fish float in a creek in the Baker Wetlands just southwest of the intersection of 31st Street and Haskell Avenue. Members of a local environmental group said they're trying to find out what happened.

At first, he said he was concerned someone may have maliciously killed the fish or damaged the dam. He wasn’t satisfied when he heard Boyd’s and Schultz’s explanations.

“I think that’s just another example of some of the callousness that’s being manifest there with regard to the wildlife,” he said. “They could be thinking, ‘We’re going to put a road there anyway, so who cares?'”

The fish have yet to be removed.

“In the past we’ve not done anything about it because it usually happened in the summer and the birds cleaned them all up,” Boyd said.

This time around, he’s not so sure. He said he would assess the situation today.