At Walden Ponds east of Boulder, receding water has left dead fish along the shoreline. Similar conditions are visible at Viele Lake and a pond along Wonderland Creek in the Kings Ridge neighborhood, where carp lie dead in stagnant, algae-filled water.
Across Boulder County’s plains, extreme drought is shrinking small lakes, ponds and wetlands. In some places, falling water levels have caused fish kills and foul odors. The damage can look permanent.
But city and county officials say many of these habitats are likely to recover when wetter conditions return. The immediate problem is that, even as the ponds dry, officials cannot simply refill them…