Casselberry's triplet chain of lakes is so polluted, WFTV learned the city is spending nearly $400,000 to clean it up.

The lakes are part of a watershed that dumps the pollutants into Lake Jesup.

WFTV's Tim Barber found out it might be a quick fix, but it's not permanent.

Cathy Farrar may live on Queens Mirror Lake, but she only uses it for the view.

"I certainly would not want to step into, or walk into it, or fall off into it. So, yes, it's pretty yucky," said Farrar.

Queens Mirror Lake is part of the heavily polluted "triplet chain of lakes."

The city has spent years studying fixes and decided the best route is to dump a chemical into the lake called alum to clean up the pollutants, mainly phosphorus.

Alum works like a magnet, collecting lake sentiment, and then dragging it to the bottom of the lake.

"If you look at cost per pound of phosphorus removed, the alum treatment was a no-brainier," said Kelly Brock, with the city Of Casselberry.

The city could add several baffle boxes to the lakes, which act as filters, but those cost $125,000 each.

Another system uses a filter and alum, but that's even more expensive.

The Queens Mirror is unique because 1,000 acres to the west drain into it, so all the runoff from businesses and homes makes its way through the rest of the triplet chain and eventually into Lake Jesup.

Farrar and her neighbors worry all the bad stuff is just going to sit on the bottom.

"It would be very nice if we had a beautiful, pristine, clear water lake, but I don't know if we can have that because of all the runoff," said Farrar.

When officials get more money, they will look at other fixes that could stop most of the pollution from getting into the lake in the first place, they said.

• More information