Dagenham residents have raised fears for dogs as the lakes of Mayesbrook Park are causing an 'abundance' of fish to die. Around a dozen were spotted floating lifeless in the water last week. Grim pictures and videos uploaded onto local Facebook groups showed dead fish, believed to be carp, turned upright in the lakes and nearby marshes as a swarm of flies descended on them.
One concerned resident wrote online on August 30: "There is an abundance of fish [dying] in Mayesbrook lake right as I type this. Could the powers to be address it please. There are children and dogs going into the lake but something is making the fish die and harmful."
Another resident urged dog walkers to not let their dogs near the lakes after he spotted "lots of" dead carp in the water. The posts have since received a flurry of comments from dozens of 'heartbroken' residents who fear other wildlife are also at serious risk of dying.
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One person commented: "Problem is, will it affect the swans and ducks also as well as the other wildlife that seems to be feeding off of the dead fish....hope it gets sorted soon, so sad to see them all."
Mayesbrook Ward Councillor Kashif Haroon, who is also Cabinet Member for Public Realm and Climate Change said he was aware of the issue and has raised it with the member's query.
A Barking and Dagenham Council spokesperson said depleted levels of oxygen in the lake, caused by heavy rainfall and rapid growth of algae over the August Bank Holiday weekend led to fish being unable to reach the water surface and suffocate.
They told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We are aware that over the Bank Holiday weekend the significant growth of algae and heavy rain early that week led to extremely depleted levels of oxygen in the lake, leading to many fish being unable to reach the surface and therefore suffocating.
"Such occurrences have been reported by other boroughs too. In relation to Mayesbrook, the affected area of the lake has been cordoned off and we have removed and disposed of the dead fish promptly.
But due to the size of the lake, further dead fish could rise to the surface over the coming days. We continue to monitor the situation and OUR contractors are engaged to attend to the site and retrieve the carcasses as this occurs."
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