Virginia Beach residents disgusted by dead fish and lack of answers

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — In the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach, residents report that an unusual number of fish are dying at a body of water known as Lake Conrad. It’s in the Laurel Cove neighborhood.

Some shared information about the “fish kill” on community social media pages to alert neighbors.

One homeowner, Todd Freischlag told News 3 reporter Angela Bohon that he first noticed it on Thursday, August 29. He said he contacted the City of Virginia Beach who did send employees with Public Works to the area to check it out, but he feels there hasn’t been a sense of urgency with addressing the problem.

“I’ve never seen this before since 1998 when we moved in,” stated Freischlag. “It’s very unusual and very concerning.”

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He then contacted the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

A spokesperson for DEQ says a staff member visited the site and observed approximately 50 dead and decaying fish, specifically largemouth bass and bluegill.

DEQ described a “fish kill” as “a sudden and unexpected or atypical death of fish or other aquatic animals in a clearly defined area” and wrote that “Fish kills can occur anywhere inhabited by fish and can be caused by water pollution or by natural events.”

They say they measured low levels of dissolved oxygen and that the cause of the low oxygen levels is under investigation.

Neighbors tell News 3 that a few weeks ago, they noticed a contractor working on the storm drains and that whatever substance they were using had a horrible odor. They fear it could have something to do with the fish dying.

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“It was so noxious, I actually had to change the route in which I was going,” Anita Miles said while describing her daily walks.

Miles added that she’s lived in the home for decades and has never smelled this type of odor before and also never seen fish dying in high volumes at the lake.

A spokesperson for the City of Virginia Beach says that its Public Works department is working with a private contractor who has been re-lining storm pipes.

Freischlag hopes to get answers as soon as possible.

“We may well have carcinogens in the lake exposing the residents, the kids who fish in the lake, the wildlife of something really bad. So the city needs to sample and test for that right away to eliminate that as a possibility,” Freischlag said, describing his frustrations.

DEQ says that no additional impacts have been reported.

Homeowners are concerned that contaminated water could spread from Lake Conrad to Great Neck Lake or through other environmental factors.

“We had eight black vultures who were eating a lot of the dead fish which is a good thing unless, again, there’s carcinogens in it. That could spread into the ecosystem. I’d really like the city to rule that out,” Fresichlag said.

Resident Jessica Ludwig is also hoping for answers. “Looking out on the water every morning, it’s just so peaceful,” she said. “There’s just something about the water. It’s really enjoyable until all of this started to happen.”