UPDATE: What killed these dead fish in lake at Urangan?
UPDATE: The Fraser Coast Regional Council and the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection have been informed about sudden deaths of hundreds of fish found in the lake near Truro St.
A DEHP spokesman said the deaths could have been caused by last week's hot temperatures.
"The recent extended warm temperatures have quite possibly resulted in a deterioration of the water quality in the lake system," the spokesman said.
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"The EHP investigation did not reveal any evidence of a pollution event."
The public are encouraged to contact EHP immediately on 1300 130 372 for any incidents involving wildlife, including fish deaths.
Fraser Coast Portfolio Councillor for Culture, Arts and Environment David Lewis said the council had received numerous customer enquiries relating to fish kills.
"This particular water body is largely part of our stormwater management system and is not a natural water course subject to tidal influences or aeration through natural water flow," he said.
"The recent fish kill is believed to have been caused by depleted oxygen due to a lack of aeration coupled with high temperatures. "
The council cleaned up the fish yesterday and environmental health officers are monitoring the lake.
EARLIER: Urangan residents woke up this morning to find hundreds of dead fish have surfaced in the lake near Truro St.
Concerned residents living nearby have started to speculate how the fish could have simultaneously died.
Urangan resident Brenda Gordon told the Chronicle she has walked past the lake every day before work for the last 15 years, and said she had never seen anything like it.
"What a catastrophe," Ms Gordon said.
"Someone really, really has to look into this, how could this have happened?"
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Another resident, who has also lived in the area for more than a decade, said she had seen this once before after a storm similar to the one over the weekend.
She suggested it could have been a lightning strike that caused the fish deaths.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said she had noticed some fish "flapping about" in the lake on Sunday.
The Fraser Coast Regional Council and the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection have been informed about sudden deaths.