Plantation Resident Concerned About Dead Fish In Backyard Canal

PLANTATION (CBS4) - Brittany Mohler said she and her family were enjoying a Friday evening dip in the pool at their Plantation home last week when they smelled something terrible.

They investigated the canal behind their home and saw a frightful sight -- dead fish.

"It looked like it had snowed here there were so many fish," Mohler said. "It was just covered in dead fish."

Mohler estimates there were hundreds of dead fish up and down the waterway. She instantly became concerned for the health of her family, which includes a 1-year-old daughter.

"It scared me that there was a poison in there," Mohler said.

Mohler said she called a number of local and state agencies but no one came to test the water or clean up the rotting fish.

"When I asked them who's going to help us they laughed again and said it's not our problem," Mohler told CBS 4's Carey Codd.

A fish and wildlife expert said there could be several reasons for a fish kill -- including an algae bloom that takes away oxygen that fish need to survive.

Coincidentally, on Wednesday, CBS 4 News reported on another fish kill. This one was also in Plantation -- but about 7 miles to the west at the Mar Lago Village.

Resident RJ Peck said he saw pool repairmen putting a substance in the canal behind their homes. Peck said a worker told him what it was.

"He said, 'It's baking soda,'" Peck said. "We do it all the time."

Peck was angry at the sight of dozens of dead fish in the canal.

"This is my environment that they're polluting," Peck said. "Obviously something's wrong in the water that they're killing (fish). This water flows everywhere and eventually out into the ocean."

A Broward County Environmental Protection worker tested the water and said he did not believe the fish in that canal died from the substance.

However, the county worker did say he expects the pool company to face some sort of discipline.