Aquatic Weed Harvesting Concerns

Based on comments I’ve heard from various residents concerned about the location and frequency of weed harvesting in the Yahara chain of lakes, I asked the Lakes and Watershed Commission to add an item to their recent agenda on the impacts of budget shortfalls on lake (aquatic) weed cutting. The Lakes and Watershed Commission met on August 20th to discuss their 2010 draft budget recommendations, found at http://www.danewaters.com/ and added time to discuss the lake weed harvesting program budget cuts.

I summarized the information on the current status of the lake weed cutting program that was provided to me by county staff and discussed at this meeting. This information also includes a listing of the county priorities for weed cutting.

The baseline program for aquatic weed cutting includes LTE staff to operate 10-11 harvesters and associated elevators and trucks. Due to budget shortfalls, the Land and Water Resource Department needed to cut $139,000 in 2009 LTE funding. The Department prioritized those cuts in order to have the least impact on public service and existing commitments in its seasonal programs. The aquatic plant harvesting program was targeted for $43,000 in savings, reducing the harvesting base budget of $100,000 to $57,000.

In order to meet that savings target, from May to August, the county operated 6 harvesters according to its priority system: first priority being harvesting in the Yahara River to improve flow and reduce shoreline damage from high water. The county’s aquatic plant scout (employed at reduced hours) helped guide harvester locations according to program priorities. The 2009 season was the first time staff placed harvesters in the Yahara River so early in the season, and was the first time they operated 5 harvesters in the River at one time. This was due to the high water levels and need to remove vegetation in the River to improve flow out of the entire Yahara chain of lakes. Improving flow has a direct benefit to residents of low-lying areas susceptible to flooding in the Yahara chain such as Belle Isle in Lake Monona.

When aquatic plant growth (especially Eurasian water milfoil) became a nuisance, some harvesters were diverted to lakes Monona, Kegonsa, Mendota, and Waubesa. At peak plant growth, the county increased harvesters on the water to 8.

During the week of August 3, the $57,000 adjusted harvesting budget was exceeded and almost all LTEs were laid off. Harvesters continue to operate in the Yahara River to improve flow. End of season required activities such as removing buoys from the water; cleaning, repairing and storing equipment are being done primarily by permanent staff instead of LTEs.

The aquatic plant removal LTE barge crew, an initiative of the County Executive and Madison Mayor, will continue through the end of August. This $25,000 initiative, funded by the City of Madison, serves Madison residents on lakes Mendota and Monona. Other cost-saving measures in 2009 included eliminating harvesting service for special events such as sailing regattas, Paddle & Portage, etc and not harvesting on Indian Lake, Fish Lake, Verona Quarry, Tenney Lagoons, and Warner Lagoons.