Water Lily Eradication Update

                                                                                                                                                                                                            By Matt McCain

    Come next spring, you’re going to see fewer fragrant water lilies on the lake than you’re used to. As planned, Aquatechnex, an aquatic weed-control specialist, began eradicating Cottage Lake’s formidable crop of non-native lilies this summer.

    Aquatechnex’s first pass at spraying the lilies ended quickly due to high winds. During their second visit, technicians were able to spray all the way around the lake, but were unable to penetrate the dense areas of lilies in the north and south ends. Now, as temperatures drop and the lilies die back naturally, any further spraying this year would be futile.

    So, the good news is, we’ve made a respectable dent in the lilies. The not-as-good news is that, due to our somewhat late start and time spent waiting for our permit, we didn’t get as much done as we had hoped to. However, we only spent about 55% of our $5500 budget (thanks again to those who’ve donated), so we will have funds to continue the project next summer. In addition, thanks to the hard work of some FOCL members, we received a small grant ($2500) which will be used to cover part of the project's costs. Since our permit only needs to be renewed next year, we should be able to get an earlier start (mid-July).

     In the coming months, FOCL will be seeking community approval to allow Aquatechnex to operate a small gas-powered motor on the lake. This will enable Aquatechnex to effectively penetrate the dense lily patches in the lake’s north and south ends (it’s a jungle in there).

   Friends of Cottage Lake Receives Grant

The Friends of Cottage Lake was awarded a $2,500 grant from the “2006 Small Change for a Big Difference Grant” for use in the eradication of the invasive water lilies. 

   The grant is funded by WaterWorks and awarded by the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks with the project being funded in part by a King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks WaterWorks grant.  The $2,500 can be used for costs of permits and filings ($400), legal and public notification costs ($400) and the cost of the non-toxic herbicide.  The grant runs from August 17th, 2006 to Sept 15th, 2007. 

Why are Water Lilies Bad?

 

· They crowd out native aquatic plants

· Decrease water flow in the lake

· Create low oxygen areas that harm fish

· Increase the nutrient load of the lake encouraging algal blooms

· Increase sedimentation of the lake near the outlet which continually decreases the depth of an already shallow lake