The fish were dead in Kurt Schroeder's pond, their remains left to be picked at by birds.

The smell was noticeable first, before one got closer to see scores of bass that lay rotting where kids with lines used to come to catch them.

Schroeder blames his choked pond on nearby wells dug by a developer in his neighborhood, Furlong in Buckingham.

The wells, he believes, have pulled away water that used to feed the pond on his property at Upper Mountain and Forest Grove roads, leading to a level 8 inches under its normal summer low.

A feeder stream sat dry this week, keeping the water from circulating.

Duckweed, which usually would be pushed over the pond's spillway, laid a coat of green that smothered the fish.

“It's the lowest I've ever seen in my 67 years,” said Schroeder's father, Wes. “It's the impact that development has. They need water, and it's got to come from somewhere.”

That's a conclusion that Buckingham and Bensalem-based developer Orleans Homebuilders are studying. Though Schroeder is convinced the wells for nearby Windsor Square are the culprit, a consultant's report concluded they weren't.

Buckingham officials this week asked Schroeder to be patient, since he first flagged the problem to them near the end of July.

Orleans “is not a group that walks away from a problem, but they are a group that needs to have enough discussion to know it's their problem,” said Tom Kelso, a point man for Buckingham on water issues.

Township officials asked whether dry weather could be to blame for the low water level, while they also chided Schroeder for not trying to clear the weeds on his own.

The duckweed, not the draw down, was the reason for the fish kill, Buckingham manager Ray Stepnoski said.

“The township does not have the responsibility to take care of your pond,” Stepnoski said. “If you have a duckweed problem, then you need to take care of your duckweed problem.”

Furlong, which has seen explosive development, has struggled with maintaining enough water to meet growing needs. This summer, the township asked village residents to keep usage down, after the daily take of water briefly exceeded replenishment.

Already, Orleans has drilled wells for some of Schroeder's neighbors, while it also has hooked five homes on Edgehill Drive to its system, after their wells dried up.

Schroeder said the township, which was heavily involved in the series of wells drilled for Furlong's new developments, hasn't stood up for him when his pond fell.

“We don't have the money and the resources to go up against a developer,” Schroeder said. “We were counting on the township to go to bat for us.”

He noted that only about 850 of the 1,200 houses planned for the area have been built.

“If we're having these kinds of problems now, there's going to be some serious problems when all the homes come online,” he said.

Henry Rowan, supervisor chairman, said Schroeder is asking for too much, too soon.

Staff from the township and Orleans will continue to diagnose the problem and work out a solution, Rowan said.

Bill Briegel, Orleans' vice president of planning and engineering, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

“The township is not going to clean the duckweed off,” Rowan told Schroeder. “If you're looking for that, it ain't going to happen.”

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