Little thought is given to aquatic weeds unless you live or recreate on the worlds waterways. The aquatic plant harvester industry has grown in response to those concerns. With Pictures of steam powered cutter boats dating back to the late 1890’s, we know that excessive plant growth has been a problem for a long time.
Ninety-eight percent of Malawi’s electricity supply comes from five hydro plants on the Shire River. An increase in floating aquatic weeds and debris caused serious operational problems at the stations and resulted in millions of dollars spent on repairs. For example, the intake structures at one plant were so blocked by accumulated weeds, water could not