County begins Ascarate Lake cleanup

a fisherman who comes here on a daily basis. he said it’s a form of algae that i guess, happens a lot here at ascarate. and he had also mentioned that they had just restocked the lake, which i thought was kind of stupid – that they would restock the lake if they know that’s gonna happen.” for days, concerned abc-7 viewers have been calling our newsroom to tell us about dead fish floating in ascarate lake. they also say the lake stinks! on friday, abc-7 spoke with county commissioner david stout. he represents that area and told us the dead fish are the result of an algae problem in the lake. welcome back to abc-7 at five. i’m rick cabrera. and i’m estela cas. abc-7’s andrew j. polk joins us live with new information on the situation at ascarate lake. andrew? rick and estela, county staff now say the problem is what’s called a golden algae bloom … a rapid growth of algae it may have been set off in part by that fish restocking. crews for the county have been working to keep the lake clear of dead fish… estimated to be about a thousand now. the county gets fish for the lake from east texas on the gulf coast… and the algae may have come along with the latest or other recent loads. but the county says that’s not unusal, and has dealt with minor outbreaks before… staff are in contact with texas parks and wildlife and other agencies to fix it… the weather may actually be making it worse because this form of algae thrives in the cold. “we’ve been assured there is no risk to the public, but they did recommend that we shut down the lake for a period of time until the water in the lake warms up. and this past weekend it did, but then today it’s cold again. the county has gotten recommendations for some chemical fixes, but there’s concerns it could then kill the other kinds of fish in the lake. while that’s figured out, the county says it’s managing the fish and making sure it won’t affect events at the lake. another thing being managed – the county’s response to the pope’s visit. coming up at 6, why the county is deciding to shut down. rick and estela? the iowa caucuses are finally here after months of