Dead fish in Powderhorn Lake

A treatment to eradicate an invasive plant in Minneapolis’ Powerhorn Lake resulted in a fish kill, a foul odor and upset neighbors, WCCO reports.

“The Minneapolis Park and Rec Board staff found Brazilian elodea in Powderhorn. It was new to them, and frankly it’s new to us since we haven’t seen this plant in Minnesota before,” said Department of Natural Resources Coordinator Chip Welling.

DNR officials applied a spot treatment to kill the plant, which the department said did not kill the fish. When they cut off the lake’s aeration system, it killed the lake’s fish.

“I think it’s a real shame. There’s a lot of people who go fishing out on the pier with their kids,” Minneapolis resident Joanne Jongsma told WCCO. “I really wish that the city, or whoever did it, would have notified the community at large a lot better before they poured the herbicide in.”

Brazillian elodea is a popular aquarium plant.

DNR is planning to restock the lake this spring.

Photo: Judy Baxter.