If You Pee In A Lake, You Might Kill Some Fish

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ishermen in Hamburg, Germany are taking swimmers to task, blaming their micturatory habits for the death of 500 fish in Eichbaum Lake. Some in the area have written this off as the latest episode in a longstanding feud between swimmers and fishermen, but are the anglers correct in saying swimmers are the number one cause of fish deaths, or are they all wet?

According to an article on German news site thelocal.de, the fishermen may have a right to be pissed off.

It turns out that while urine itself is not harmful to fish, the phosphate it contains leads to the creation of blue-green algae, which can seriously mess with the lake’s ecosystem.

Local officials are dumping anti-phosphate into the lake, but this has had little effect. Other theories as to the cause of the mysterious fish deaths involve ice skaters who make noises that wake the fish from hibernation. The fish awaken and are unable to breath, and soon perish.

Hamburg University is conducting tests on the lake, and initial tests have indeed shown an elevated pH level.

So while it’s possible that the swimmers are killing fish by using the watering hole as their water closet, a definitive link has yet to be established. Meanwhile, the fishermen continue to insist that since the swimmers gotta go, they gotta go.