Lake clean up under way after complaints from public

People in Media City say they have seen the colour of the water change over the past few months, which many believe may have caused some fish to die.

The lake behind the CNN building in Media City has drawn complaints from workers in the area who say it is filthy. Razan Alzayani / The National

DUBAI // A man-made lake in Dubai will be cleaned up, officials have promised, after members of the public saw dead fish floating to the surface.

People working in Media City said they had seen a change in the colour of the water over the past few months, which many believe may have caused the fish to die.

Tecom Investments said it was in the process of tidying up the area, including the lake, and the work was planned to be finished by the end of summer.

“Before the Christmas market went up there were men, not in uniforms, catching all the ducks,” said Emma Baker from the UK, who works in Media City.

“I asked them why they were taking them away and they said it was so the lake could be cleaned.”

That conversation took place about December 10, she said.

“So far, nothing. The ducks are still missing and the lake is still filthy,” Ms Baker said. “You cannot even see the water, it is so disgustingly dirty with a thick film of scuzz on top.

“The lake has fish, ducks, herons and terrapins, but it won’t for much longer.”

She said she counted eight dead fish with larger ones “bobbing” on the surface, which were then eaten by birds.

“Bad all round,” Ms Baker said. “The fish are dying, the terrapins will die and the lake will start smelling because of the scum and it’s so stagnant. What a way to look after one of the only green areas in the emirate.”

Ms Baker believes one of the reasons for the poor quality of the water could be rubbish from events at the park that overlooks the lake.

“I used to walk past it every day but I can’t any more. It makes me too sad to think of everything dying,” she said.

Her views were echoed by another British expatriate who works in the area, but asked not to be identified.

“I’ve been working here for a couple of years and the lake used to be a really nice place,” she said. “But over the last few months I could see that the water has been getting dirtier and with more moss growing.”

Although she did not see any dead fish she agreed something needed to be done

Tecom Investments said: “As part of our continual effort to maintain and enhance the landscape within Dubai Media City, over the past few months our facilities-management team has been engaged in a large-scale clean-up of the moss and other natural debris that has been building at the bottom of the lake.

“The lake’s condition has changed during this process but we anticipate it will be back to its normal condition by the end of the summer.”