IF YOU wondered what the smell was at Alford Park, you may go down there today and wonder what happened to it.

The answer is the Gympie Regional Council has solved the problem, removing the cause of the odour.

Just in time for some of the fish that life there and attempt to extract oxygen from the water so they can survive.

And we may also spare a thought for the turtles and birds that have to live in an atmosphere involving a larger than normal proportion of smelly swamp gas.

Gympie Regional Council says visitors to Lake Alford may have noticed the build-up of aquatic plants.

That would also include The algae that is also growing a little too vigorously in the water.

This sort of build-up is "a natural condition for water bodies, a council spokeswoman said yesterday, made worse by natural factors.

Heat, sunlight and the natural processes of rot that set in when there is too much vegetation about all contribute to the problem, it seems

"The combination of ideal growing conditions for certain aquatic plants has led to a higher than normal level of vegetation,” a spokeswoman said.

"This not only looks unsightly but risks a build-up in nutrients in the system and (causes) issues as vegetation starts to decompose.”

And that is what the smell is all about, as well as the probable discomfort for the wildlife of the area.

"To help address this, the council has engaged an aquatic harvester for two days to remove vegetation from some of the most heavily affected areas.”

That will be followed up by continued observation of the area to make sure it does not all happen again.

"The council will continue to monitor the situation while this unusual weather lasts,” the spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, things should return almost to normal, given that it is quite likely the hot, dry weather has not entirely departed, even if it is raining slightly this week.

Good weather for plants, it seems, but not necessarily for ducks.

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