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 wiped out most fish in the lake. Birds and other aquatic animals seemed unaffected.
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 KERA 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 there is no evidence the nearby YMCA facility's pools were the source of the chlorinated water, per city staff comments on Facebook.
“In October we released a statement 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.
Fox said officials don’t suspect the chlorine spike was intentional or criminal in any way.
A similar incident took place in 2018. NBC 5 reported that a water main break sent chlorinated water into the lake and killed hundreds of fish.
In the months following the 2025 incident, city and state officials worked to reestablish the lake’s ecosystem with native plants and new fish.
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’t be done all at once.
“Fishery biologists say restoring a lake after such a significant fish loss requires rebuilding the ecosystem in stages,” 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, “We just ask that anglers have fun catching them, reeling them in and then throwing them right back — and doing the least damage to their gills as possible — so they can continue being in there.”
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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