Efforts to restore Georgica Pond are proving to be successful thanks in part to the help of an aquatic weed harvester.
Georgica Pond has been invaded by toxic cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, in recent years, which can cause serious health problems. For the second consecutive year, the foundation has leased an aquatic weed harvester to remove plant material, or macroalgae, from the pond, which releases nitrogen and phosphorous as it decays and is believed to promote cyanobacteria.
The mechanical harvester 32,700 pounds of this material represent 6% of the pond’s nitrogen load and 12% of its phosphorous load; down from 2016 when 55,740 pounds, representing 13% of the nitrogen load and 23% of the phosphorous load, were harvested. Officials say part of the reason for the decrease in 2017 was due to the large quantity of macroalgae harvester the previous year.
