It is exhausting reading about lake after lake after lake becoming infested with an over abundance of aquatic vegetation. This plant material not only negatively affects water quality, the health of the fishery, recreation, aesthetics, but it is financially devastating as well.
It affects tourism; bait shops, marinas, hotels, restaurants. It affects lake property owners; taxes, resale values. And it affects the community as whole when it comes time to right the wrong caused by the overabundance of vegetation.
Determining how to manage the vegetation often times divides communities and neighbors. There are enormous lists of pros and cons related to each method and $$$$ seems to be a hot spot.
This 30-years old Aquatic Plant Harvester is still operational and in use in Russia.
Proponents of mechanical harvesting deem it as expensive. Some articles list expense as a problem with aquatic plant harvesters as a control method. Of course the equipment does involve a capital investment, but amortized over the 10+ year lifetime and it becomes a very cost effective option.
A weed harvester is also economical to operate, using only 1.5 gallons of diesel per hour. Workers are often volunteers or part time summer help and if regular maintenance is performed (just like you take care of the car you drive) no expensive repairs are required. Plus as a bonus, aquatic weed harvesters have resale value. Contractors often look for used equipment and since the machines operate for 10 – 20 – 30 years, they sell quickly.
When it comes time to select a control method for aquatic vegetation, please contact us before judging mechanical harvesting as too expensive. While the upfront price may seem too much, think of it as a long term investment. An investment into the next decade!
At 20-years old, this Aquarius Systems Mechanical Weed Harvester not only still looks great, but is operates flawlessly in Alaska.