State to treat pond to kill new invader
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
LIMERICK — A rural pond that is being choked with the fast-spreading weed hydrilla will be treated with a herbicide Monday in an experiment to see if the chemical will eradicate the invasive plant.
The Department of Environmental Protection has hired a contractor, Aquatic Control Technology Inc. of Sutton, Mass., to apply fluridone to Pickerel Pond. Hydrilla was detected in the pond two years ago and was out of control by last fall.
Fluridone will be used in small concentrations so that it can't hurt humans or animals, said Roy Bouchard, a biologist with the DEP. But he advises people who live in camps along the 49-acre pond not to water their plants or lawns with pond water for the rest of the summer.
Besides killing the hydrilla, the fluridone "might also kill your potted plants," Bouchard said.
Hydrilla is one of 11 invasive aquatic plants on a state "watch list" that can damage fisheries, choke swimming areas, displace native plants and lower property values.
State workers on Friday began placing placards along the pond explaining the $20,000 treatment process. The fluridone will be dispersed deep in the pond from a small boat.
Killing the hydrilla now should prevent it from spreading later in the summer. Once it begins growing, it drops little seeds on the bottom of the pond, so the goal is to kill the plant before it drops a new layer of seed.
"It's arguably the worst invasive aquatic plant we know of," Bouchard said.
The pond, a popular swimming hole, is about half-covered with the plant.
Ruth Lewis, a cashier at Limerick Supermarket who likes to swim in the pond, said she's more concerned about the hydrilla than about any effects of the fluridone.
"They say it's not harmful, so I don't worry about it," Lewis said. "I'd rather it be treated than see a pond full of weeds."
As a precaution, state officials are asking the public to not swim or boat on the first day of the treatment and on subsequent days when booster treatments are applied.
The potential damage of invasive plants to Maine's 5,800 lakes was heightened two years ago when milfoil, another invasive plant, began showing up in the state.