The Bricktown Canal is drained and cleaned every few years, revealing a slew of lost items almost like a slimy, accidental underwater time capsule. It was properly cleaned for the first time in three years recently, and thankfully no (human) bodies were found.
Officials found common items like cell phones, wallets and skateboards, but having only come to the city two years ago, Lime scooters made their official bottom-of-the-canal debut this year. Parks & Recreation crews said they found more than 20 of the green scooters. It’s too bad Bird scooters left the OKC nest before they could be immortalized in an abundance of local TV and print canal cleanup coverage.
The cleanup crew also found 30 orange safety cones, a bicycle, a camera tripod and even a wheelchair. But perhaps the most interesting finds were fish. Crews found about 50 catfish, 30 goldfish and some koi. A seriously dedicated KFOR reporter actually held one of the found goldfish, which was roughly the size of her head, for her segment on the canal cleanup.
“You might be wondering how goldfish ended up in the Bricktown Canal. Seems kind of fishy, huh buddy?” she said while staring at the fish. “Well, city officials believe they could’ve been pets that outgrew their tanks and then were dumped by their owners.”
Scott Copelin from OKC Parks & Rec said some people would rather dump their overgrown goldfish instead of upgrading their tank. He said catfish could’ve also been dumped or their eggs could’ve been dropped by birds. We’re not sure which seems most unlikely in this case, but Copelin said the catfish are headed to the Oklahoma River.
As for the goldfish and koi, Garden Ponds Unlimited in Moore offered to take in the fish. Lauri Lucas, Garden Ponds co-owner, told The Oklahoman they’ll be placed in display ponds and monitored for a few months until they are rehomed.
All’s well that ends well, we suppose.
