NO-GOOD weed goes unpunished? LCWC

D UDLEY P OND W EED M ANAGEMENT Lake Cochituate Watershed Council Symposium

Mike Lowery Wayland Surface Water Quality Committee 1

NO-GOOD LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

WEED GOES UNPUNISHED ?

D UDLEY P OND

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Some Dudley Pond Lots were raffle prizes at movie theatres!

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

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84 Acres

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6-8’ Average Depth

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Slow Water Turnover

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DENSELY Settled – Summer camps of 30s became year round homes

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Weed problems since 70s

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Milfoil discovered in 1991

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We’ve tried almost everything!

G OALS & S TRATEGY

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WHACK, YANK, and STARVE!

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

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Minimize long-term herbicide use

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Use herbicide to regain control

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Use hand-pulling & DASH for long term control

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Spot treat with herbicide in areas diver’s can’t get under control – and keep hand pulling!

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Pull out the root crowns post-herbicide

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Get nutrients from runoff & septic under control

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Town/State/Lake Association Partnerships

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2009 N EW G ROWTH ON OLD STEMS

Surprise?

2008 Fluridone didn’t kill all the plants.

ACT Inspection Visit

Ted & Allison provide examples & confer

Much new growth from old rootstock.

Herbicide didn’t kill strong-rooted survivors.

Isn’t not just re-infestation.

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

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Interesting: Bad 2008 areas got sonar pellets and post-herbicide root crown pulling -and- were in good control in 2009.

Two big problem areas – developed late-season.

LCWC Symposium 5/15/2010

18,000 PLANTS PULLED 7,000 OLD - GROWTH SURVIVORS

2009:

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FALL 2009 – S URVEY R EMAINING P LANTS

At Season End: We knew where we had problems, and that hand-pulling alone in 2010 wouldn’t make it.

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

Post-Diving survey - plants kept growing.

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2009 W INTER

PLANNING

Consensus: •Spot treat worst areas, hand pull remaining areas.

•Remove Root Crowns after herbicide But: Order of Conditions allowed only 5 acres – we had 16+

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

Ted, Allison & Mike agreed on the spot treatment areas.

2010 W INTER /S PRING – RFP & P ERMITTING

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Town Protocols We had to issue and RFP, get bids.

ACT had low bid.

Our permit only allowed 5 acre spot treatment – we presented to Conservation and they authorized 20.

RFP

Select Vendor

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

ConCom OK

2010 – H ERBICIDE S POT T REATMENT – M AY 19 TH

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No miracles:

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Our experience: systemic herbicides don’t kill all the roots.

Late May/Early June: Spot treat 18 acres with triclopyr (Renovate OTF™). DPA funded 2 of the treatment areas: thanks! Total budget: $15,000

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Conservation Commission just OK’d treating >5 acres.

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Brown pellets – strongest action at weed base but will disperse throughout the pond. Will not control all milfoil

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Excellent and selective response in North Pond, 2009 – native plants doing well.

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Outlet will be closed, pond will be posted, 1 day noswim, no-boat – safety: fast airboat in use. No restrictions.

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We’ll treat during the milfoil’s fast growth period.

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5 day half life, effects seen in 1-2 weeks.

1,2 or 3 years - the plants grow back.

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

2010 – H AND P ULLING

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U NDERWAY

NOW

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You’ve seen the green markers – we’ve begun pulling the BIG plants we’d expect to come back.

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We’re pulling ALL plants in the areas not planned for treatment

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History Lesson: Areas pulled after Sonar in 2008 were less infested in 2009. So:

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After 2010 herbicide we’ll yank-em while there down… Remove of root-crowns is cheaper and faster after herbicide, and we’re going to take advantage of that as we did in 2008. NO ONE ELSE DOES THIS

 LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

Same $16K hand-pull budget as 2009

T HREE - PRONGED

WHACK, PULL, & STARVE

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Phosphorus is the limiting nutrient – Deprive milfoil of phosphorus, and it will not flourish.

APPROACH

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We can whack them with herbicide

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We can yank them out by the roots

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BUT: If you feed them, they will come…

WSWQC and DPA and neighbors must work to limit inflows of nitrogen and phosphorus into Dudley Pond.

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

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W HEN YOU GET HOME …

PLEASE: Don’t Feed the Plants!

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

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Check the labels of your laundry & dishwasher products for phosphates – more than zero is bad for the pond.

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Check when your septic system was last pumped out. Get it done.

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Avoid phosphorus in lawn care products – if you use fertilizers, use slow-release organic products.

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Dudley Pond is a Category 5 (worst) impaired water body per MA DEP

TMDL – DOING THE SCIENCE

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WSWQC has submitted a $50,000 grant request to MA DEP for federal EPA funds to conduct a TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD study for phosphorus in Dudley Pond.

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TMDL is a budget – a diet for phosphorus

“ORGANIC ENRICHMENT” DEP must develop plans for US EPA on Category 5 waterbodies.

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

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How bad is it?

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How much ‘P’ comes in from where?

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How much can it afford, what’s the target?

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How could we lower it?

S OURCES OF P HOSPHORUS FOR D UDLEY P OND

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LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

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Surface Runoff – lawn fertilizers, road crud

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Septic Leachate 

A Title-5 compliant system does VERY LITTLE to remove nitrogen and phosphorus.

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Problem is the total load from all our systems.

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Nitrogen flows easily in groundwater, Phosphorus is removed in loamy soils – our sandy soils don’t help.

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Re-release from sediments

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Animal waste & Plant matter

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D UDLEY P OND OF 2030 IS HAPPENING TODAY

Much of this we can control. If we can get the inflows under control there are ways to block re-release from sediments.

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

http://lakeaccess.org/lakedata/lawnfertilizer/p-diagram.htm

W HAT ABOUT THE C IRCULATORS ?

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LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

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No effect on milfoil found in two year study.

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Water clarity is good – that’s what circulators were originally designed for – but we have no data to prove causation.

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Were just moved to shallower area near the Chateau with less water movement – now suggested by manufactures.

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Under discussion:

2009 WAS GREAT –T HANKS FOR DPA SUPPORT !

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

ALMOST

FINIS

2009 WAS FINE …

W HAT W E W ORRY ?

Return of the Pond Beast taken last week LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

Wayland Surface Water Quality Committee

TAKE AWAY: G OALS & M ETHODS

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Whack ‘em.

Yank ‘em, & Starve ‘em

LCWC SYMPOSIUM 5/15/2010

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It’s a long fight – don’t get complacent

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Run experiments – but always have a Plan B

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Herbicide to bring it under control, hand-pulling & dash to keep it under control – spot treat if it gets away from you.

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Yank the root crowns post-herbicide – its cheap & will minimize herbicide later.

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NUTRIENT CONTROL! – Runoff, Septic