Hundreds of dead fish appear in lake

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    BOCA RATON, Florida (WPBF) — Hundreds of dead fish are floating in or washed ashore at a Boca Raton lake, and people in that neighborhood said the smell has been unbearable at times over the last few days.

While the city of Boca Raton and Lake Worth Drainage District leaders are currently working to resolve this issue, some people in this neighborhood said more needs to be done.

The stench was not quite as bad on Sunday as it was on Saturday, due to many of the dead fish being eaten by insects or birds. Some of the dead fish also sunk into the lake.

“It’s repugnant. It’s disgusting,” Manning said. “We can’t use our backyard.”

Manning is one of many in the Boca Square neighborhood who’ve been forced to adjust their plans over the last few days.

She first noticed the odor Thursday night and went out to investigate the smell the next day.

“I actually went down to the lake and I saw the fish that had collected,” said Manning. “At least 5-or-600 fish collected in the corner by the storm drain. It was disgusting and it stunk. It smelled like dead fish. It’s gross.”

She said she called the city soon after that, staff members came to the lake.

Another neighbor forwarded us an email sent to her from the City of Boca Raton municipal services department.

“The City with the expertise of Allstate Resource Management has made the conclusion that the low oxygen levels in the lake (2 ppm) is the root cause of the fish kill. The City is looking into long term solutions. We have scheduled Allstate Resource Management to clean up the existing dead fish in the lake on Monday, 6/21. We are sorry for the great inconvenience and will keep you updated on the future progress of our long term mitigation assessment.”

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