Riverside is testing the water in the lakes at Fairmount Park after residents discovered the deceased bodies of a couple dozen ducks, officials confirmed this week.
No cause for the animal deaths has been determined, officials said Wednesday, July 24.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Services Department was notified that a couple dozen dead ducks were found at the lakes inside Fairmount Park earlier in the week, department director Pamela Galera said in an email. The department moved to evaluate the water the next day, she said.
Several Riverside residents took to online neighborhood forums to express their concerns.
“At Fairmount Park, there have been dead or dying ducks near the shoreline,” said resident Sally Clark in an email Friday, July 19. “They can’t hold their heads and shake them side to side. This is most likely happening because they are exposed to toxic algae blooms.”
According to Clark, the lake at Fairmount Park was very empty with algae everywhere when she visited Friday, July 19.
Another resident posted about the situation on the neighborhood network site Nextdoor, saying duck sanctuaries and rehabilitation sites are full and unable to take in the ducks from Fairmount.
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In her email, Galera outlined the steps the city is taking to address the problem:
The water levels have been raised at the lake.
City staff contacted the Regional Water Quality Control Board and California Environmental Protections Agency to evaluate the water condition of both lakes.
Tests were conducted on the lake waters by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
The dead ducks will be tested to determine the cause of death.
City staff contacted the Riverside County Environmental Health Department and several avian crisis groups to enlist assistance with the temporary placement of ducks and geese still at the park.
City staff is working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to find temporary animal care.
“We do not have the results from the water tests yet,” Galera noted Wednesday, “as they typically take several days to come in.”
No cause of death had been determined by Wednesday, but residents in online forums have raised toxic algae as a possible cause.
“We won’t know until (parks department officials) get the test results,” said Riverside Police Department Public Information Officer Ryan Railsback. “It could be botulism, which is kind of a natural occurrence with these ducks.”
A similar outbreak at the lake in 2011 was believed to have been caused by avian botulism.
Botulism occurs from bacterium is found in soil. In water sources, higher temperatures, excessive plants and a low level of oxygen can cause the occurrence. When birds eat from the vegetation, they can become sick — affecting an animal’s nervous system and sometimes causing death.
Botulism outbreaks in birds is usually a low health risk to people.
