Some of the goldfish were large, 3 to 5 inches long, and quite thick. The children used lunch containers, cups and anything else they could find, and water from bathrooms and muddy puddles as the remaining water slowly soaked into the ground. Some children were hoping to relocate or take a few of the fish home to care for them in their own containers. Others questioned why the water was being drained from the ponds if the fish, frogs and large tadpoles needed it to live there.
The water normally in ponds at Town and Country Park is controlled by the Madera Irrigation District, and now is cut off for the season as it is each year at some point based on availability.
Other residents watching the incident objected to the sight and smells of the muck and the dying fish. “It’s a shame we can’t have a little water here in the (park) ponds for the fish, frogs and the children all year,” said one mother of a young girl.
Others suggested a clean-up of all the trash now visible from the draining of the ponds.