Hundreds of fish ranging from 20-inch-long carp to fingernail-sized perch lay dead in the waters of Tacoma’s Wapato Lake on Saturday, a day after the South End lake was treated with chemicals to kill toxin-producing algae.
The fish were scattered around the shore of the pollution-troubled lake where visitors gawked in disbelief.
“There are dead fish everywhere,” said South End resident Gilbert Durand. “The water looks clearer than I’ve ever seen it, but that only makes it easier to see all the dead fish.”
The 34-acre lake, usually yellow-green with algae blooms, looked blue-green from a distance. Up close, particularly near the shore, the water was as clear as a mountain lake.
The lake is managed by Metro Parks Tacoma. Agency spokeswoman Nancy Johnson said late Saturday that parks staff would be on the scene today “to assess the situation and figure out what needs to be done.”
She noted that toxicity levels were already high due to the algae.
“We definitely had to take action of some sort because the algae itself, regardless of treatment, was resulting in previous fish deaths,” she said.
Earlier this month, Metro Parks agreed to pay TeeMark Corp. of Aitkin, Minn., $98,000 to treat the lake with 33,000 gallons of alum solution and 16,000 gallons of sodium aluminate. The chemicals bind with phosphorous, which drains into the lake from the surrounding area and fertilizes the algae.
The treatment posed no threat to people or wildlife, the company told The News Tribune three weeks ago.
Ryan Hess and his son Owen had ridden their bikes to Wapato to pedal around the lake Saturday evening. They were shocked to see the mass of dead fish.
“I’ve been coming here since I was young,” said Ryan Hess. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I’m for them cleaning up the lake, but at what cost?” he added.
Cheryl and Don Curtiss wondered aloud whether the algae-killing treatment was killing the lake’s fish.
“All the fish are dead or dying,” said Cheryl Curtiss. “What I’m concerned about now is what about the rest of the aquatic life.”
Cheryl Curtiss was particularly concerned about reports that one of the foot-long goldfish that inhabit the lake had died. Some nearby residents consider the fish pets.
At the lake’s north end near where the Curtisses live, frogs still perched on lily pads and woody debris. But instead of fleeing instantly when humans approached, the frogs lethargically hopped into the water only when a pebble was tossed their way, residents reported.
In recent years, the Curtisses said, the park has been plagued with problems ranging from polluted water in the lake to vandalism of the park fixtures.
Now, the fish kill.
“I wish that when Metro Parks did something, they’d do it right,” Don Curtiss said.
South End resident Tom McNellan said he plans to call the state Department of Ecology to ask what went wrong. The department had assured him and other lake patrons that the chemical treatment would be harmless.
“This is really unacceptable,” he said as he peered at the carcasses of several large fish.
The South End lake has been a persistent problem for years because urban runoff pollutes the water and encourages algae blooms.
The parks district has considered half a dozen different solutions to the pollution issues, ranging from an expensive overhaul of the lake to lesser measures such as the alum treatment.
John Gillie: 253-597-8663
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