weed harvesting – Aquarius-Systems

Kiel Man Honored for 50 Years of Lake Stewardship

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 22:21:49 +0000

Aquarius Systems turned 55 this year and during that time we have seen harvester operators come and go. Oftentimes operators are college kids looking for some summer work or retired community members looking to keep active and make a little money.

However, that is not the case with the operator of the Cedar Lake Sanitary District. Roger Laack has been operating an aquatic weed harvester on Cedar Lake for 50 years. With a permit from the DNR, Roger would clear navigation lanes around the lake and remove vegetation around piers.

Congratulations Roger and thank you for your dedication to lake management!

Lake Association Voices Opposition to Herbicide Use

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 22:13:49 +0000

The Chautauqua Lake Association (CLA) says it has filed objections to a permit applications that would allow for the application of two powerful herbicides to 1,200 acres of Chautauqua Lake this coming summer.

The CLA in New York is the organization that helps manage weeds on the lake by operating a number of harvesters to remove weeds throughout the summer season.

The 10 objections (printed below) from the CLA range from failure to notify all effected shoreline property owners, to the lack of scientific understanding of lake currents that could spread the chemical herbicides well beyond the areas being targeted for herbicide use. Because the permit calls for the use of both the chemicals Aquathol K and Navigate, the CLA also argues the effective coverage area is actually 2,400 acres under the current permitting request.

The 10 objections cited by the CLA to the DEC are:

1. Inappropriate herbicide use endangers fish, animals, birds, insects and plants.
The applications also do not fit within any invasive species or lake management plan ever written & the fully implemented aquatic plant harvesting can work to control nuisance plant growth in Chautauqua Lake – without resorting to herbicides.
2. Affected property owners were not appropriately notified.
3. Failure to comply with county plans.
4. Permit application defies DEC regulations.
5. Proper testing was not performed in 2018
6. “Need” for herbicide use based on flawed surveys.
7. Conflict of interest on who applies the herbicide.
8. Bottom cover should be determined by third-party divers, not guesswork.
9. Coverage area could reach 2,400 acres, without third-party, scientific evaluation of need or efficacy.
10. Lake current patterns – which could disperse the chemicals over a much wider area – are unknown.

Larger Weed Harvester Expected to Improve Quality of Weed Removal

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 22:03:00 +0000

The Cazenovia Town Board’s first meeting of the new year — and with recently elected Councilor Jimmy Golub seated at the table — saw not only the making of annual organizational appointments for the town government, but also the announcement that the town is soliciting bids to potentially purchase a brand new lake weed harvester to replace the current one.

The town’s seven-foot-wide aquatic weed harvester — used to remove the invasive Eurasian watermilfoil from the lake — was purchased used in 2014 for $60,000. Since then, it has removed hundreds of metric tons of milfoil from the lake, but last year was beset by mechanical difficulties that left it inoperable after July 4. The town rented Cayuga County’s 11-foot-wide weed harvester for one week and then used the Madison County, New York’s, weed harvester for the rest of the summer.

Cazenovia lake harvester crews this year removed two-thirds more milfoil than they did last year, partially because the Cayuga County machine was so much bigger than Cazenovia’s machine.

Mechanical Harvesting Removes Water Chestnut on the Charles River

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 22:28:12 +0000

The Charles River Watershed Association and local citizens have obtained funding to conduct large-scale mechanical harvesting to remove roughly 50 acres of water chestnut and other invasive weeds.

The Charles River Lakes District in Massachusetts is a popular destination for canoeists, kayakers and rowers, but the pollution from stormwater runoff resulted in an increase in nutrients resulting in the growth of water chestnut, Eurasian watermilfoil and fanwort which interfered with those activities.

The weed harvesters have will harvest for a few weeks in August before the water chestnuts drop their seeds and will start up again in the spring of 2014.

Weed Harvester Removes 265 Dump Truck Loads From Black Hawk Lake

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 22:21:22 +0000

In its second year of operation at Black Hawk Lake in Iowa, the Aquatic Vegetation Harvester cut through some very dense underwater foliage this summer and removed an estimated 265 dump truck loads from the lake.

The Aquatic Vegetation Harvester is part of the community’s lake project which is striving to increase Black Hawk Lake’s water quality. This fall two area farmers will spread the tons of vegetation harvested onto their land as fertilizer once it’s been dried.

Dead Seagrass and Wrack Removed to Protect Water Quality in Budgewoi Lake

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 22:04:01 +0000

DEAD seagrass will be removed from Budgewoi Lake and Lake Munmorah in the coming weeks as Wyong Shire Council’s weed harvester shifts into overdrive.

Since August, a total of 730 tonnes of wrack was removed from the lake and taken to Buttonderry Waste Management Facility in Australia.

Last year, the council removed 5800 cubic metres of wrack from the shore zone next to recreational areas which would otherwise have decomposed in the lake, affecting water quality and contributing to the formation of organic black ooze.

Weed Harvester Removes 2,656 Tons of Milfoil From Cazenovia Lake

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 21:48:00 +0000

In the absence of chemical pesticide treatment on Cazenovia Lake in New York this summer, crews used an aquatic weed harvester to control the invasive watermilfoil.

During the four months of weed harvesting on the lake, town crews removed 354 boatloads — 2,656 tons — of invasive milfoil weeds from the lake. The harvesting also removed 11,000 pounds of nitrogen, 17,000 pounds of phosphorous and 5,800 pounds of potassium from the lake.

In 2015, town crews harvested 423 metric tons of weeds from the lake.

If the harvester wasn’t on the lake this year, it probably would have been unusable.

Weed Harvesting Helps Control Hybrid Watermilfoil in Lake Hallie

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 21:40:36 +0000

Lake Hallie Lake Association is making some headway in the war they’ve been waging against the hybrid watermilfoil weed.

First discovered in Lake Hallie in 2005, watermilfoil is an invasive aquatic plant that has an aggressive tendency to form a thick mat-like layer as it floats on the water. If left unchecked, this plant can cover huge areas of water, blocking sunlight from reaching more desirable plants and making boat traffic difficult.

Using a weed harvesting machine, the Lake Association harvests from May to September, multiple times per week. Over the course of the season, from 200-300 tons of the plant are removed from the lake.

Rock Lake Permit Approved for Mechanical Weed Harvesting in Wisconsin

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 21:07:17 +0000

Aquatic plant control always seems to be a controversial issue. Rock Lake located in Southeastern Wisconsin is no exception. Last year residents opposing harvesting formed a human barrier to keep the aquatic plant harvester from entering the water.

This year the Rock Lake Restoration Association has once again applied and received a permit to harvest aquatic plants on the Town of Salem lake. Craig Helker, water resources biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued the permit for mechanical harvesting. “Harvesting is a recognized tool in Wisconsin,” Helker said.

Warden Jennifer Niemeyer had some words of warning for those who might contemplate trying to block the activity again. “Any impediment by the citizens could be construed as disorderly conduct,” Niemeyer said. “(Harvesting) is nothing new or special on Rock Lake that we haven’t done on other lakes.”

Wisconsin is the birthplace of the aquatic weed harvester. Built in 1902 by the Hockney Company, the machine was not originally built to meet recreational purposes; it was made in response to fussy Chicago housewives! Around the turn of the century, ice was harvested from Wisconsin lakes destined for Chicago iceboxes. The housewives there didn’t like cleaning out the weeds when the ice melted. The boat was designed to cut down the weeds in the fall so that clean ice could be harvested in the winter.

Lake Whitehall Plan Targets Invasive Weeds With Herbicides and Harvesting

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 20:57:26 +0000

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is aiming to reduce invasive plant species in Lake Whitehall in a plan that calls for herbicides and mechanical harvesting.

The reservoir has extensive growth of “exotic nuisance aquatic vegetation,” including fanwort and variable-leaf milfoil, according to a report by ESS Group, a firmed hired by the state.

The planned management program calls for herbicide treatments, mechanical harvesting, hand and diver harvesting, and benthic barriers, a method that uses sediment.

“DCR is also seeking approval for the use of algaecide treatments should they be necessary to control algae blooms following the management of aquatic invasive plant species in the reservoir,” the report reads.