Warm Water Cause of Stinky Smell on Some Local Lakes

Local lakes have already reached temperatures not normally seen until late August.

Certified Lake Manager Dick Osgood says Lake Minnetonka and other local lakes are approaching record temperatures, "And we still have two or three weeks to go before the typical hottest water of the season."

According to Osgood, one effect of warm water is the production of blue-green algae, "Blue green algae are odor forming, scum forming and in the hot sun when it washes up on shore the light from the sun decomposes it and it causes that dead fish smell."

Jacqueline Hed from Fridley noticed the smell right away as she and her husband rode their bikes around Lake Harriet, "As you come down the hill lake Calhoun into Lake Harriet, it's right there." She says the smell is localized but intense, "On a scale from one to ten, it's a nine."

Osgood says there will likely be no long-term impact on area lakes, for now an increasing odor may be more than enough impact for some.

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