Potential sewage discharge in popular Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island lake angers local residents

There are questions about what may have ended up in the water at popular Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island.

It is beautiful, peaceful, and full of wildlife, but there's something lurking beneath this surface that has people who live in the borough not just worried but nauseated.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation says it's investigating a potential sewage discharge into the waterways. Since it's an ongoing investigation, the agency is not saying where that discharge may have come from, or how much may have entered the water.

For people like Emily Phelps who go to the park regularly that possibility is upsetting.

"I'm grossed out by it, because sometimes it smells terrible," Phelps said.

"I think it's disgusting," resident Loretta Flaherty said. "This is nature. We want it to be beautiful."

"This probably happens a lot more than we know," resident Michael Stella said.

Stella said he's been fishing on the lake for years, doing catch and release. He said the possibility of a sewage leak doesn't just make him second guess fishing.

"It makes me second guess everything. You want to be able to enjoy [it]. This park is beautiful," Stella said.

There is another layer to this story, since, technically, the lake is part of the city. While the Department of Environmental Protection says the possible pollution problem is now a state issue, the lake's management falls under the jurisdiction of NYC Parks, which said in a statement, "Safety is a top priority and we will comply with any recommendations from DEC."

But that has done little to calm people who are already fired up.

"It's a cliché. It's tiring. Why are we accepting the fact that our waterways are polluted? It shouldn't be that way," Kevin Peters said.

CBS News New York also reached out to the neighboring restaurant, Stone House at Clove Lakes, but it declined to comment.