Fish dying at Tempe Town Lake

"We walked up and there were a lot of little dead fish just right there; we were counting them," said Danielle Smith.

"Just around the edges of the lake. A lot of trash, debris and dead fish that wash up. It was just a little, didn't feel very clean," said Danielle Jones.

The City of Tempe is working closely with Arizona Game and Fish, who have tested the water regularly and told us this is not a water quality issue. Although golden algae is present in the water, it is not causing the fish to die and is not a human health issue.

But that still has some not wanting to get in the water.

"It kind of grosses me out. I've thought about doing the triathlons here, but the thought of swimming through dead fish makes me hesitant," said Smith.

What is making the fish die? According to Game and Fish, this is an unfortunate seasonal occurrence.

Often fish die because of the cold weather. The two types that are dying in Tempe Town Lake are two warm water fish, tilapia and shad.

Staff members at Tempe Town Lake are working as fast as they can to remove the dead fish and keep the lake looking beautiful.