Timely start to Delta water hyacinth fight
STOCKTON — For the first time in years — maybe the first time ever — state officials on Wednesday launched their annual battle against Delta weeds on the very first date allowed under their permits.
Those permits allow for chemicals to be sprayed starting March 1 each year. Sure enough, boats were in the water on Wednesday at Village West Marina and in Discovery Bay, among other places, said Lynn Sadler, head of the state’s Division of Boating and Waterways.
“We’re thrilled to be started, and we are prepared to have this be our best year ever,” she said.
The flood won’t hurt. Some early-season water hyacinth has been washed all the way to San Francisco Bay, where saltwater will kill the plant, Sadler said.
There still are plenty of Delta sloughs and backwaters where plants could accumulate even during high water. “But we had to look around to find some hyacinth today,” she said.
State officials were forced to alter their game plan because of the flood and a restriction on boating in the south Delta. Some areas that normally would receive priority treatment are on hold.
In the case of the tentaclelike underwater weed known as Egeria densa, it’s possible the water is cold and deep enough that the plant isn’t actively growing right now, and herbicides won’t do any good, Sadler said.
Even if the weeds are growing, if the water is too high and fast the herbicides might not sink down to the root level of the plant. Officials don’t want to apply the expensive chemicals if they’re not going to work, Sadler said.
Overall, however, she said the flood shouldn’t alter the state’s ability to get the job done.