A very warm winter combined with a long spring and a hot dry summer caused the weeds to flourish at an accelerated rate at Cheshire Reservoir in Massachusetts.
A treatment to control Vallisnaria americana weed, also known as tape grass from the reservoir generated a massive release of the weeds grip on the lake bottom. Wind and water currents carried the rotting plant material on nearby shores.
Lake Management workers with the use of a mechanical harvester were able to remove about 80 dump truckloads of dead and rotting tape grass. Rotting material still remains behind, but works plan to return to collect more vegetation.