I was not able to respond to comments yesterday because I was at work (firefighter- 24 hr shift), but I would like to ask a few question to anyone who could help us.
We are looking for which test to run to determine what did happen. I regards to O 2 depletion, we have several other ponds and lakes which there were no fish kill at all, also that the golf coarse has been been using this fungicide for the last few years. We have a two vertex system 7's in the lake , one of the systems does have to new heads for shallow water - so there are 28 aeration heads operating in this lake. We have not had to treat the lake with any chemicals for weed control all year and the only thing we have been adding is dye to cut down on light penetration.
I'm concerned that if the fungicide caused the kill (Chlorothalonil) that if it is the cumulative in the fish that survived , also if so could the levels had been building up to a point and then pushed over the edge and with the treatment being done before the rain and the sudden influx caused the kill? Are surviving fish contaminated ( bluegill, catfish, walleyes) with the chemical to the point that they should not be eaten if caught in the future? The chemical is a suspected carcinogen and their are several greens that have drainage directly into this lake, (more then other the other lakes) so I'm still very concerned that this is problem.
We are located in northwest Indiana so If anyone could recommend a company or individual who we could contract to assist in pinpointing what the cause was please contact me.
Yesterday the bodies of the larger bass ,8 pounds plus, started to float up and I have to say I was glad I was at work because it would have killed me to see it in person, myself and many others have spent a great deal of time and money restoring this lake. We need to identify the problem so that it does happen again and because of "politics" in the community (golfers vs lakes people) we need to have proof if the chemical was a factor.
