Dudley Council has brought in a large scale water pump to help aerate the lake at Mary Steven’s Park following last week’s storms.

As a result of the storms, the council has arranged the removal of around 1,700 dead fish.

The issue has been experienced by other local authority areas including, Wyre Forest and Wolverhampton. These large scale fish deaths are due to a number of uncontrollable factors related to oxygen levels in the water.

In warmer weather, water and air temperatures are high, reducing the water’s capacity to hold oxygen. Low atmospheric pressure during thunderstorms further reduces the capacity of water to hold oxygen. Councillor Damian Corfield, cabinet member for highways and environmental services, said:

"While the warm weather has been a blessing to most of us, the combination of high air and water temperatures and last week’s storms has resulted in the loss of many fish from the lake at Mary Stevens Park.

"We know this is distressing for visitors, but please be assured that we are monitoring the lake on a daily basis and removing any dead fish every day. Our contractors are working in the evening to minimise disruption to our park users.

"We have also notified the Environment Agency, who have approved our approach and with the introduction of the new pump which is increasing oxygen levels in the water, we hope to see a reduction in further fish deaths and would encourage people to continue to enjoy using Mary Stevens Park."

The fish have been removed using contractors who specialise in fisheries management and the removal of fish from large bodies of water. They are mainly working in the evening when the park is quieter.

Park managers recently brought in a large industrial pump to help to circulate the water to provide more oxygen into the lake, which in term should help the fish. The pump will remain in place until the oxygen level improves. While there has been some loss of fish, the lake will not need to be restocked as the fish population will naturally repopulate to normal levels over time.