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Ecosystem restoration at Bedford Boys Ranch Lake continues after last year's massive fish kill

Boys Ranch Lake in Bedford is home to a variety of fish, reptiles and birds. July 2, 2026.
Andy Lusk
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四虎影院
Boys Ranch Lake in Bedford is home to a variety of fish, reptiles and birds. July 2, 2026.

The City of Bedford is working with state officials to restore wildlife populations in the Bedford Boys Ranch Lake at Generations Park.

Last July, a mass die-off . Birds and other aquatic animals seemed unaffected.

Young anglers Quinn and Liam Murphy cast their lines at Boys Ranch Lake. July 2, 2026.
Andy Lusk
/
四虎影院
Young anglers Quinn and Liam Murphy cast their lines at Boys Ranch Lake. July 2, 2026.

Officials identified an isolated incident as the cause, with a large amount of highly chlorinated water from an unknown source flowing into the lake.

City spokesperson Molly Fox told 四虎影院 the city closed its investigation into the issue after months of water testing, checking security footage and looking at neighboring areas as potential sources of chlorine.

Officials said the nearby YMCA facility's pools were the source of the chlorinated water, per city staff comments on Facebook.

鈥淚n October that basically said, we have searched high and low," Fox said. "We have taken large measures into our hands of trying to investigate the situation and we just cannot find the source."

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and private company Magnolia Fisheries conducted testing in the area alongside city staff.

Canadian geese at Boys Ranch Lake in Bedford. July 2, 2026.
Andy Lusk
/
四虎影院
Canadian geese at Boys Ranch Lake in Bedford. July 2, 2026.

Fox said officials don鈥檛 suspect the chlorine spike was intentional or criminal in any way.

A similar incident took place in 2018. NBC 5 reported that a and killed hundreds of fish.

In the months following the 2025 incident, city and state officials worked to reestablish the lake鈥檚 ecosystem with native plants and new fish.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department sign outlines regulations along the edge of Boys Ranch Lake in Bedford. July 2, 2026.
Andy Lusk
/
四虎影院
A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department sign outlines regulations along the edge of Boys Ranch Lake in Bedford. July 2, 2026.

Last fall, state parks and wildlife employees introduced hundreds of new fish into the lake. Restocking efforts will continue this fall and into the spring of 2027, as the work won鈥檛 be done all at once.

鈥淔ishery biologists say restoring a lake after such a significant fish loss requires rebuilding the ecosystem in stages,鈥 Fox said.

From here, officials will continue to monitor water quality.

Boys Ranch Lake is catch-and-release, so fishing is welcome if what's caught is returned to the water.

Fox said, 鈥淲e just ask that anglers have fun catching them, reeling them in and then throwing them right back 鈥 and doing the least damage to their gills as possible 鈥 so they can continue being in there.鈥

The lake is home to bluegill, sunfish and fingerling largemouth bass.

Got a tip? Email Andy Lusk at alusk@kera.org.

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Andy Lusk is 四虎影院's mid-cities communities reporter. He is a returning Report for America corps member, having spent two years with KUCB, the NPR member station serving Alaska鈥檚 Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. While in Alaska, Andy was an award-winning general assignment reporter with a focus on local and tribal government. When he's not reporting, he's usually out hiking. Andy is an alumnus of New York University.