A Villager fears that pesticide usage is to blame for a fish kill at a pond in his neighborhood.
Residents of the Village of Harmeswood of Belle Aire were furious Monday about the dead fish at the pond.
The smell was awful and insects were swarming.
David Elliott, an eight-year resident of Harmeswood of Belle Aire, said the fish kill is eerily similar to a fish kill which occurred there in 2017.
He said he got involved in that incident six years ago and contacted the Florida Department of Agriculture. Elliott said that at the time, the Department of Agriculture concluded that the contractor paid to maintain the pond, Clarke Aquatics, had used an overabundance of chemicals in the pond, leading to the fish kill.
When a neighbor alerted him Monday to this fish kill, Elliott concluded that the overuse of chemicals was to blame again.
In 2017, an investigation by the Department of Agriculture revealed that Captain XRT Liquid Copper Algaecide and Tribune Herbicide had been used to treat the pond in the Village of Harmeswood of Belle Aire. The chemicals “encompassed the entire surface of the 1.115-acre retention pond,” according to a Department of Agriculture report at the time. The chemicals were used to treat “undesirable aquatic vegetation.” The investigation found that the use of Captain XRT Liquid Copper Algaecide is “toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates.” Its use can lead to oxygen loss that can cause fish to suffocate. The Department of Agriculture recommends treating half of a water body at a time and allowing at least 14 days between treatments. The Department of Agriculture also found that Tribune Herbicide used to treat dense weed areas “may result in oxygen decomposition of dead weeds. This loss of oxygen may cause fish suffocation.”
The Villages District has switched its pond maintenance contract from Clarke Aquatics to Solitude Lake Management LLC, which is seeking a 40 percent increase in its existing contract with The Villages. Elected officials in The Villages have balked at the request and have opted to rebid the contract. There are fewer players in the field today as Solitude bought out Clarke Aquatics.
The District Office issued a statement Monday afternoon about the fish kill.
“District Property Management is aware of the fish kill. They believe it is due to the high water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels,” the statement said.