Photos: Volunteers Assist Park District in Clearing Water Hyacinth

by ECT Jan 12, 2015

written by ECT Jan 12, 2015

More than 100 volunteers assisted East Bay Regional Park District staff in helping remove Water Hyacinth at Big Break Regional Shoreline in Oakley on Sunday.

The event was held between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm where the shoreline was overtaken by weeds. Volunteers collected the Water Hyacinth and removed them carrying them to land where they will die off. The effort will now allow kayak to come in and out of the waterway.

According to the Department of Ecology, State of Washington, Aquatic plants scientists call water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes and several related species) the worst aquatic plant in the world! It is native to South America, but has been naturalized in most of the southern United States and in many of the world’s subtropical and tropical climates. Water hyacinth plants have tremendous growth and reproductive rates and the free-floating mats cause substantial problems. Plant managers and water front residents spend millions of dollars per year in the United States for its management.

According to the California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways, the Water Hyacinth is to well established and eradication is impossible. Here is a look at the Water Hyacinth FAQ: 2014 Season

The species is too well established in the Delta region, eradication is impossible.
There is no known eradication method in the world for water hyacinth. Therefore, DBW operates a control program as opposed to an eradication program.
DBW has the authority to cooperate with other state, local and federal agencies in controlling water hyacinth in the Delta region, its tributaries and the Suisun Marsh.
Surveys are conducted in the Delta to determine where water hyacinth is located and which areas are in most need of treatment. Surveys are also conducted to determine what agricultural crops are growing near treatment sites.
DBW works with the US Department of Agriculture to obtain the required approvals for conducting the Water Hyacinth Control Program from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). These two approvals are required by the Endangered Species Act.
A third approval, a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit is required by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.
The approval process determines if herbicide usage may affect any of the threatened, endangered or sensitive species, and critical habitats. Effects to humans, agricultural areas or potable water intakes are also reviewed.
Approvals place restrictions on where DBW can treat the plants, when and where the program can start herbicide treatments (this varies throughout the Delta region), and an extensive water monitoring program. Extensive water quality sampling is conducted at treatments sites throughout the season to ensure herbicide levels stay within the required limits.
Water hyacinth is chemically treated with glyphosate or 2,4-D. Herbicides are registered for aquatic use with California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. The herbicides are contact herbicides in liquid form, sprayed directly onto the water hyacinth.
Initial symptoms of glyphosate treatment on water hyacinth do not appear for two weeks or more. Visible treatment symptoms are gradual wilting and yellowing of the plant, advancing to browning of vegetation and eventual decay. It may take two months for herbicide effectiveness to be clearly visible.
Funding for water hyacinth treatment comes from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund, which receives revenues from boaters’ registration fees and gas taxes.