FROM KPEL: (LAKE CHARLES) Residents who live near the lake in Lake Charles are smelling something fishy. At least, we hope that what so many of you have been asking about is simply fish. As you might imagine after a destructive storm like Hurricane Laura and the close proximity of so many chemical and petroleum plants there could be various concerns over what is in the water.
Many residents who live along the lake or who have been working near its shore have noticed a particularly foul odor in the air. Those who have lived through storms similar to Laura, aka Rita, believe the stench is coming from sea life forced into the lake by the storm.
The fact that so many of the sea creatures aren’t adapted to lake life is the cause of their demise and once they die, they start to rot. And when things begin to decay they tend to smell. One resident of Lake Charles who lives on Shell Beach Drive believes the stink will go away once there is rain to help flush out the lake system.
However, that resident was quick to tell KPLC Television that due to the current state of roofs or lack of roofs in Lake Charles a good rainfall at this time would not be considered a blessing. As of early this morning, it looks as if the only rainfall we might encounter over the next few days will be isolated afternoon and early evening showers and thunderstorms. So, get used to the smell for a few more days.
Investigators with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality believe that the sheen that some residents have noticed on the water and the stench wafting above the waves are coming from primarily dead vegetation. However, La DEQ does have teams on the ground in Lake Charles assessing the situation regularly to ensure that there are no other issues regarding the lake and its water.
