News Releases

SFWMD, FWC re-schedule hydrilla treatment on Cypress Lake

News Release

Thursday, April 07, 2011

Media contact: Bill Graf (SFWMD), 407-858-6100, ext. 3837

UPDATE: Due to recent rains, the Lake Cypress hydrilla treatments scheduled for this week have been rescheduled for the week beginning April 11. Specifically, Aquathol K will be applied to the 600-acre block on Thursday, April 14, unless water flows have not abated by that time. Also, applications of Clipper and Clearcast to the smaller demonstration plots will occur that same week, although a specific date has not yet been targeted.

Because of the recent heavy rains, water is being released through the S-61 water control structure on Lake Toho and moving through Lake Cypress at a higher rate than earlier predicted. As a result, if hydrilla treatments proceeded as originally scheduled, they would likely not be as successful as initially planned.

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will treat hydrilla on about 600 acres of Cypress Lake. The invasive plant can clog waterways, impede navigation and affect wildlife.

Working in cooperation with the FWC Invasive Plant Management Section, the SFWMD Vegetation Management Division will apply the herbicide Aquathol, which is approved for lake use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Areas to be treated were carefully selected to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as improve navigation and flood control on the lake.

Since hydrilla was first introduced from Asia as an ornamental aquarium plant in the 1950s, the rapidly growing aquatic plant has invaded almost 80 percent of Florida's freshwater ponds, rivers and waterways. The plant can grow in underwater stands or surface mats and is easily transferred to other water bodies by boats.

Hydrilla slows water flow, can be detrimental to fish and wildlife habitat and limit access to waterways by clogging boat motors.

The SFWMD Vegetation Management Division is responsible for managing nuisance and invasive exotic vegetation throughout the 16-county District. The implementation of a vegetation management program is necessary to ensure the continued use and function of the region's water resources and preservation of South Florida's conservation lands.

For more information on the District's vegetation management efforts, please visit the District's website at www.sfwmd.gov.