LETHBRIDGE, AB – There’s a growing problem at storm ponds around Lethbridge and that has city officials putting out a reminder to residents.
Some aquatic invasive species which should be in aquariums, including goldfish and koi, have be found in at least three ponds.
Those include Firelight Park on the west side as well as Chinook Lake and Elma Groves Pond, both on the city’s north side.
City officials say these fish have been illegally released into these storm ponds and other bodies of water and that’s resulted in the altering of aquatic habitats.
Some of these fish, especially goldfish can grow quite large in size, with no natural predators.
Starting this week, crews will be checking out Firelight Park in Copperwood with boats and equipment. Mitigation work is planned for next summer and the other two ponds will go through the same process at some point as well.
Officials say never dump aquarium water of any kind, including plants or dead and live animals, into storm ponds. Some common aquarium and pond plants can become problematic when released into the wild.