KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — People spending time on Lake Wateree over the last week say they have noticed several large dead fish floating in the water.
Jonathan Fike, a resident of the area says he saw several dead fish.
"Me and my friend, we're up there riding on the boat, checking out the water, just for a fun day, but whenever we got up to the state park, there were quite a few washed up on the beach," Fike said.
Emily Staggs, who was at Lake Wateree with her family for vacation, said she had noticed some as well.
"Today is our first day out. We've seen probably three or four, and we've just gotten here, so, but enough for us to notice," Stagg said.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) said they received a report last week about dozens of dead fish. Stephen Fastenau with SCDNR explained what they saw when they sent someone out to research the situation.
"SCDNR received a report of a few dozen fish that we're seen dead on a northern section of Lake Wateree," Fastenau said. "The report was for dead catfish, like several dozen dead catfish. They found three. Doesn't mean there weren't more, just at the time he went out that's what he saw."
Agents with SCDNR performed water tests to make sure nothing was off.
"He took oxygen readings of the water, and oxygen levels were normal and good," Fastenau said. "The water temperature is a little high. One thing that is notable is if there is some sort of environmental pollution or environmental factor, it probably would have affected more than one species of fish so you wouldn't have just seen catfish floating, it would have probably been numerous different kinds of fish."
SCDNR is asking if anyone sees dead fish, report it by calling SCDNR at 1-800-922-5431.