Three cheers for the Scot DeLeon. Scott helped us install a boom on the Island Drive Bridge and has placed a Solar Bee (solar powered pump to move water) on the lake side of the bridge. the Solar Bee seems to be working well but it is too soon to know for sure. There is the possibility of the POA renting a Solar Bee for two or three months but probably won’t be feasible this year. These efforts have prevented a massive invasion of Lyngbya in the canals on the West side. There still remains a considerable amount of Duckweed but not the massive invasions of Lyngbya we have experience in the past.
The first 3 or 4 canals on the East side as well as the Main canal are totally invaded with Lyngbya. Admiral Don Hubbard has reallocated the harvester to the East side for one week to help with the mess in those canals. Jerry Edgington has been working relentlessly to try to remove Lyngbya in the Main canal and the other canals. Mike Lasley has been putting mega hours to help clear the troublesome canals. Unfortunately the boom we placed at the entrance, while holding back lots of Lyngbya, the algae still flows into the main canal around the boom. Locke, who also has been working full time, is attempting to get approval from the county to place another boom, to help out but as yet has not gotten approval.The main boom became unattached on one end earlier this week and has resulted in Tony Lamberti’s bay becoming totally invaded. As the Lyngbya has begun to ‘harden’ up there is hope that much of the Lyngbya can be hauled out by towing a boom behind the harvester. An attempt was made last week but the Lyngbya was too loose and the attempt was not successful.
Barbara Higman, et. al., have placed ‘booms’ on their canal and have been removing the booms when the wind is blowing the algae towards the Main canal and then replacing the booms when the wind shifts direction. Their canal looks really great. Jerry Edgington has been similarly using a boom across his canal to great effect.
The County is planning to treat the four canals with herbicide sometime in the next week or two. They have used the herbicide elsewhere with very good results. The estimated cost to the county for the herbicide treatment is about $16,000. Their spraying equipment broke down and they are in the process of replacing the equipment before they can begin spraying. Of course their efforts will not be a permanent solution unless we can prevent the algae from comming in past the booms. They will also need our help with the harvester and spray boats to break up the Lyngbya while they do the spraying operation.
We have had some very bad luck with the spray boats and only have two boats operational. Steve has been give the ok to purchase some new equipment. this will take some time to order and install new equipment.
A new water pump has been installed on the harvester. Locke reports that the harvester was listing to one side (about 4 inches) after being used to pick up Lyngbya. The pump was used to clean the harvester and after cleaning the four inch list disappeared. There is growing concern that the harvester could flip over if a load of algae shifts. Operators are advised to pick up small loads and dump often to avoid such a catastrophe and to clean off the harvester after each use.
In the future it seems that we will need to get booms for each of the four canals and get the owners to pitch in and monitor the booms. We have been getting some resistance from home owners that are concerned with boat access being complicated because of the existence of booms. Owners are also hesitant to have booms attached to their property. Hopefully these obstacles can be overcome with better education.
There are many hours of the week that the harvester and spray boats sit idle. Volunteers should contact Don Hubbard (998 9182) to arrange for training and for scheduling.
I will be leaving to go back to Ft. Brag today and will return on Sept. 1.
I
Jack