Hundreds of fish, turtles found dead in Sanford pond near construction project

Hundreds of fish, turtles found dead in Sanford pond

Hundreds of dead fish and several turtles were discovered in a pond near a construction site in Sanford, raising concerns among residents about the health of local waterways.

SANFORD, Fla. - Hundreds of dead fish and several turtles were discovered in a pond near a construction site in Sanford, raising concerns among residents about the health of local waterways.

The pond, located near townhouses, had drawn migratory birds and other wildlife, but locals noticed vultures gathering after the die-off. 

What they're saying:

FOX 35 first heard about all this when Julia Mikulina reached out. She’s a real estate broker and had concerns about whether the pond was being drained properly.

"It was just very sad to see that," she told FOX 35’s Marie Edinger.

She says she was driving by, and first noticed the dead fish. Then she noticed the smell that came with it.

"It smells like death."

The wildlife

Seminole County told Edinger the fish likely died because of a cold snap we got last week, along with the low water levels.

That doesn’t explain the dead turtles, though. And other ponds just feet away from the newly-drained one do not have piles of dead fish.

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And while the drained pond has hordes of vultures gathering around it, the others still have the ducks, egrets, and storks Jan Forman says he’s used to seeing around here.

"A lot of migratory birds, black belly-whistling ducks, which would come across into townhouses and also populate that area."

Forman says he bought one of those townhouses, in part because of the wildlife this pond attracted.

Now, he says those animals seem out of sorts.

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"Several turtles who have somehow made their way under the fence line across the street to try to come down to the pond at the townhouses. And I don't know why they're draining this, and it makes no sense, but it was a habitat for a lot of wildlife."

The project

Property records show Sanford Auto Ventures bought the parcel to build a collision facility for Tesla, Inc.

Edinger reached out to Sanford Auto Ventures and the construction company they’ve contracted with, but hasn't heard back.

The County says the water is being pumped to the Saint John's River through its stormwater system.

Despite all the dead creatures and vultures, they said it does meet their water quality requirements."

The permit

The St. John’s River Water Management District and Seminole County permitted the drainage of the pond.

The County told Edinger this water meets its quality requirements for discharge, and is moving through its stormwater system into the St. John’s River.

The County said they had "considerable coordination with the owner and contractor about the dewatering."

The potential violation

The City of Sanford says they weren't in the loop about the project, explaining in a statement, "Neither the [City’s] public works or planning department staff have received any coordination or correspondence from the applicant or county about the draining of the pond."

The City says that may violate their annexation agreement for the development of the property.

Sanford’s Planning Manager told Edinger, if the developer is found to be in violation of the annexation agreement, the City Commissioner and City Attorney will consider potential consequences.