Gulf Harbors residents want fish kill answers

Article Courtesy of Bay News 9

By Josh Rojas

Published November 12, 2015

 

Pasco County residents who live along the canals in Gulf Harbors want to know what caused their seawater to turn brown, creating a foul odor and killing fish.

"I’d like to sit on my back porch and not smell porta-potties," said resident Gary Dombrowski. "Lots of fish dying. The crabs are dying in the area. I understand one of the neighbors found a dead turtle. So, it has been very, very bad."

 
Dombrowski said residents first noticed the fish kill last Thursday and believe a sewer leak is to blame.

"My honest belief is there is a sewer pipe, an exchange unit, overflowing into the canal," he said.

"We feel that there is a sewage leak somewhere in this area," said Frank Bifulco, vice president of the Gulf Harbors Civic Association. "FGUA is denying the fact."

Florida Government Utility Authority spokesman Matt Rihs said they took water samples late last week that did not indicate a sewer leak.

"We did review our wastewater system and lift station and found no leaks anywhere in our system," he said.

Pasco County residents who live along the canals in Gulf Harbors want to know what caused their seawater to turn brown, creating a foul odor and killing fish.



Pasco County Government spokesman Doug Tobin said test results show that it appears to be a natural occurrence.

"Unfortunately, when the water temperature mixes with the algae, sometimes we do get a fish kill," he said. "Especially in those canals. We saw it in 2008-2009, and it looks like we’re seeing it again."

Residents still aren't buying it and said they want water samples taken from the Seaway Drive canal.

"The samples were not taken in this canal," Bifulco said. "The samples were taken in the canals off of Glenn Drive and Ensign Loop."

In response to that complaint, Rihs said, water samples were taken from the Seaway Drive canal on Tuesday. It'll take about 24 hours for the results to come back in.

Biologists also took two control samples from the nearby Gulf of Mexico. FGUA is also asking the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to confirm the sewer system is not leaking.

"They’re going to go out and do an independent evaluation as well," Rihs said. "Just doing what they call a dye test and basically putting the dye in our wastewater system to see if there’s any indication of infiltration or leaks or anything that might exist in the system.”

Residents said they hope the murky water clears up soon.

"The water clarity has cleaned up in those other canals except over in our canal here," Bifulco said. "It’s a dark brown and the fish are constantly dying and floating on top of the water."

       

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