Sudden deaths of large numbers of fish at the lake in Queen’s Park have led to visitors of the park to be concerned.
A statement from South Swindon Parish Council who took over the lease of the park in 2009 links the death of the fish to an oxygen crash in the lake’s water, a consequence of the unprecedented hot and dry weather the town has faced.
Queen’s Park Lake is naturally spring fed from Old Town and with the minimal rainfall over the last few months, the water levels decreased which resulted in more silt and degraded organic matter being dragged up and increasing the nutrients in the water leading to the oxygen crash.
An aquatic maintenance company has been contracted to fit a pump in to the lake to increase its oxygen supply and assistance is being requested of the Environment Agency who have the necessary machinery and expertise required to test the water and increase the oxygenation for a lake of this size.
The Parish Council Chair, Cllr Chris Watts, said:“Parish Councillors are very concerned about the drop in oxygen levels in the lake and the impact that has had in aqua life and wildfowl on the lake. I can reassure residents that we are taking this very seriously at the Parish, and we are actively seeking help and advice from organisations with the appropriate expertise and equipment to deal with this issue.
As residents will have heard in the news, we are not alone in having water quality issues and we are doing our utmost to get the Environment Agency to take swift action improve the lake’s water quality.
Once the immediate issue of current water quality is resolved, the Parish Council will then review how we can put measures in place to ensure a drop in oxygen levels does not happen again at Queen’s Park, which will protect the lake’s aqua life and wildfowl. This may include research into modifying the ecosystem of the lake to be more resilient to prolonged higher temperatures we have experienced this summer and that are expected to occur on a more regular basis.”
