Sucking up weeds in Lake Cochituate
Posted May 25, 2010 04:00 PM.
By Jason Woods, Globe Correspondent
In keeping with an agreement made between the town of Natick, the state and local environmental groups, divers have begun using a suction harvester to vacuum massive tangles of Milfoil weed from the bottom of Lake Cochituate rather than using herbicides to kill the weed.
The agreement was struck earlier this year between the town, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Protect our Water Resources and the Friends of Lake Cochituate.
Natick is contributing $12,500 to the project, while the state agency will spend $25,000, to remove milfoil from more than 5 acres.
“This is a partnership grant project, set up with DCR,” said Rick Sullivan, commissioner of the agency. “We have capital funding we can use to match, in this case 2-1, projects that go to improve a DCR facility; Lake Cochituate is under our stewardship, so we worked with friends of Lake Cochituate and Natick to do this match program, which is a pilot program.”
Sullivan said if the project is successful, it is something that may be looked at for future sites.
“The real emphasis is protecting the natural resource and the recreational resource of Lake Cochituate,” Sullivan said. “But we to do it in such a way to not introduce chemicals in the water; Natick has a drinking water source nearby and has concern with chemical use.”
“There are a lot of uncertainties about chemicals,” said Carole Berkowitz, who works with Protects our Water Resources and helped organize the project. “But with this there is no uncertainty. It’s going to take out the milfoil, and leave the native plants and leave the structure of the lake in place and not interfere any of the biological processes that go on in a living lake. From our point of view, you use this first and see its effectiveness, then we’ll have discussions.”
The invasive weed can get so thick that it entangles boat propellers and can be a danger to swimmers. The divers have cleared a portion of the lake used for swimming and were working Tuesday in the area of the boat dock.
Lindsay Patterson, a diver with AB Aquatics, shows Milfoil that she and her father, Bob, pulled up from the bottom of Lake Cochituate.
Divers first remove the Milfoil from the bottom of the lake with their hands and then vaccuum it to a boat on the surface using a large hose.
“We have to get down there and pull out the roots,” said Lindsay Patterson, a diver with AB Aquatics, the group contracted for the job. “If we don’t pull out the root, it will just grow back; the Milfoil just takes over the area, they grow so tall they affect the other plants.”
Patterson, who dives with her father, Bob Patterson, said each milfoil weed could grow between 12 and 15 feet. Her father said depending on the conditions, it can take him five to ten days to clear a small area.
via Sucking up weeds in Lake Cochituate – Natick – Your Town – Boston.com.
You must log in to post a comment.