Washington Park Lake is a body of water

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in Albany

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 located in the southwestern corner of Washington Park

Washington Park Historic District (Albany, New York)

Washington Park in Albany, New York is the city's premier park and the site of many festivals and gatherings. As public property it dates back to the city charter in 1686, and has seen many uses including that of gunpowder storage, square/parade grounds, and cemetery...

. It has a surface area of 5.2 acres (21,043.7 m²) and a mean depth of 6.6 feet (2 m). The deepest sections of the lake are just over 11 feet (3.4 m) deep. The lake is roughly 1600 feet (487.7 m) long and 140 feet (42.7 m) wide.  Next to the lake is the Washington Park Lakehouse and an amphitheater where the Park Playhouse performs musicals in the summer. A wrought-iron pedestrian bridge spans the lake at its narrowest point. The footbridge over Washington Park Lake is the only remaining original structure in Washington Park. Erected over the lake in 1875 the lamps on the bridge were originally gas burning but were electrified in 1881. Ice skating

Ice skating

Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...

 is permitted on Washington Park Lake, though swimming is prohibited.

History

In 1986 after years of the lake being two to three feet below its normal depth the city repaired cracks and leaks in a concrete spillway

Spillway

A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...

. After the lake continued to be approximately one foot below normal level, the next year another leak was found where a 70 feet (21.3 m) beech

Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

 tree had grown on top of a 19th-century brick sewer pipe that was along the southern shore of the lake. The break in the 5 feet (1.5 m) sewer pipe created a sinkhole that allowed water from the lake to flow into the sewer. The same pipe caused more problems in 1995 and more repairs occurred.

In 1991 two days after copper sulfate was applied to the lake to kill algae

Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...

 a fish kill

Fish kill

The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off and as fish mortality, is a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalised mortality of aquatic life...

 occurred due to a lack of oxygen in the water. Hundreds of fish died and the rest gasped for oxygen near the surface. The city hooked up a 200 feet (61 m) pipe to two compressors that pumped oxygen into the lake similar to an aerator in an aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

. This raised oxygen levels quickly and fish returned to their normal behavior.