Slater said the deaths do not put a dent in the cutthroat population. The DWR had collected 130,000 Bonneville eggs this week in the reintroduction program, he said.

"I have no idea" what caused the deaths, Slater added.

If it was a chemical, it may not be in the water any longer in significant levels.

"I'm not itching," Richardson said, "and I've been wading in it all morning."

This is not the first fish kill in Parleys Creek. In January 2000, an estimated 185 Bonneville cutthroat trout died near Tanner Park after chlorinated water spilled into the creek. Salt Lake City officials said valves on Park Reservoir, a 12-million-gallon facility, had failed to seal properly.

However, this kill apparently cannot be blamed on a reservoir malfunction. Slater said he talked with utility officials and is convinced there was no similar problem.

"It's some kind of chemical, spilled, fallen, been put into the system there," Slater said, "or a combination of that and sediment."

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