River. A tank car split open, spilling about 19,500 gallons of the pesticide metam sodium into the river. The chemical formed a stinking, bubbling, green glob that moved down the river, killing everything in its path. More than one million fish were killed, including at least 100,000 rainbow trout, and thousands of other aquatic creatures as well as nearby trees. Next, the green glob entered Shasta Lake, California's largest reservoir. Fortunately, a system of aerating pipes at the bottom of the lake had been set up to dissipate the chemical, reducing it to almost nothing by the 29th, preventing further environmental destruction. The tank car carrying the metam sodium through California was of a type that the National Transportation Safety Board said had "a high incidence of failure" in accidents. Furthermore, the tank car was not labeled, so the train's crew was unaware of the danger posed by the chemical. Diazinon was a major pollution problem in the Sacramento River which would originate from agricultural and urban storm water discharges. Diazinon is used for orchards which grow peaches, plums, and almonds to mitigate the number of insects and pests like spider mites and aphids. A wide variety of organizations and groups came together to reduce diazinon concentrations in the Sacramento and Feather River systems. Their collaboration and hard work led to the removal of 79 river miles from the 303(d) list for diazinon impairments in 2010 according to the Environmental Protection Agency. See also Auburn Dam Bass Festival Blue Tent Creek Delta Dawn List of crossings of the Sacramento River List of rivers of California United States Exploring Expedition References Works cited External links Sacramento River realtime flows and forecasts SacramentoRiver.org Sacramento River Watershed Program Sacramento River Flooding – Online Video from KVIE Public Television "A Toxic Nightmare: The Dunsmuir Metam Sodium Spill Revisited" Sacramento Valley Rivers of Northern California Tributaries of San Pablo Bay Central Valley Project Geography of the Sacramento Valley San Francisco Bay watershed Rivers of Sacramento County, California Rivers of Contra Costa County, California Rivers of Solano County, California Rivers of the San Francisco Bay Area Rivers of Siskiyou County, California Rivers of Shasta County, California Rivers of Tehama County, California Rivers of Butte County, California Rivers of Glenn County, California Rivers of Colusa County, California Rivers of Sutter County, California Rivers of Yolo County, California Geography of the Central Valley (California) History of Sacramento, California