PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — WPTV heard from many neighbors in Port St. Lucie and asked them some questions about the dead fish turning up in a waterway along Southeast Fallon Avenue.
The fish kill occurred in the Elkham Canal, just days after crews sprayed the canal with chemicals to control the vegetation.
WATCH BELOW: WPTV's Tyler Hattfield hears from residents
For 25 years, Cassie Faulkner called the canal her happy place. “It's just like a serene place,” said Faulkner. “All the birds come and all the ducks come.”
On Saturday morning, Faulkner saw dead fish on the canal’s surface. “There was tons of flies, and they were it was just so mushy,” said Faulkner. “ You could see like them falling apart.”
Faulkner said she remembers the stench. “It is the worst smell in the entire world,” said Faulkner. “ It’s like a dead body almost.”
Faulkner said she also remembers the flies. “We can't even go into our own swimming pools because they're literally swarming everywhere,” said Faulkner.
Aquatic Vegetation Control is contracted by the City of Port St. Lucie to manage waterways and drainage systems. The company said they sprayed the canal last week to manage vegetation known to clog drainage pumps.
Faulkner said she saw them. “They were coming through spraying,” said Faulkner. “There were tons of people spraying.”
AVC said they learned of the fish kill on Friday and quickly responded to test the water, which showed the dissolved oxygen levels were too low to sustain aquatic life.
Faulkner said there needs to be a safer way to manage the canal.
“There's got to be other methods in order to do whatever they're trying to do out here,” said Faulkner.
AVC said they're closely monitoring oxygen levels, which are already showing slight improvement.
WPTV’s Zitlali Solache attended Monday’s Port St. Lucie’s city council meeting. Groups of residents took their concerns to city leaders.
“I want accountability for what happened,” said resident Marcia Gillings. “To see so much wildlife and fish floating dead was very very upsetting.”
WATCH BELOW: WPTV's Zitlale Solache attends Monday evening's meeting
Vice-mayor Jolein Carballo directed public works to dig deeper into the problem. “This is unacceptable, and it needs to be investigated, and I trust that the city manager will do that,” said vice-mayor Carballo. “I want to also hear from the company in itself, exactly what steps and measures they plan to take moving forward to ensure this is not an issue. I’d also like to know when the contract’s up for renewal.”
In the meantime, residents are planning to conduct their own testing until they hear from the city’s findings.
