Divers to begin manually pulling naiad plants this week

Divers are expected today to begin an effort to manually remove an invasive aquatic plant from Milton Three Ponds.

The invasive weed, European Naiad, was first spotted in the lake two years ago and threatens fish and native aquatic plant life, experts from the Maine and New Hampshire Departments of Environmental Protection say.

John McPhedran from the Invasive Aquatic Species Program at Maine DEP has been monitoring the growth of this year's naiad and said in a press release on Friday that the plants will be large enough to manually remove this week.

Divers from New England Milfoil, a plant removal company out of Brownfield, Maine, will begin working today in an area just south of Everetts Cove Marina.

McPhedran said in recent days that the plant has been large enough so that marina personnel, themselves, have been manually removing the plants that are nearby.

After working south of Everett's Cove, the plan is that New England Milfoil will eventually move into Northeast Pond to remove the naiad from areas outside of the herbicide treatment area. It is hoped there is enough time before seeds set to remove plants in most or all areas outside the treatment area, McPhedran said.

Meanwhile, the herbicide treatment has been set for July 26. By the time the contractor reaches the site and mobilizes equipment, the treatment will likely begin mid- to late-morning and be completed in a few hours.

If heavy rainfall precedes the date, the treatment could be delayed.

This summer's campaign against the naiad has seen heavy inspection of boats at boat ramps at Everetts Cove Marina in Lebanon and Milton Town Beach where boat owners are urged to make sure their craft are clean and free of the weed before entering the water.

New data released from the Maine DEP released this spring shows the European Naiad infestation made significant inroads from its Northeast Pond foothold into Milton Pond last summer.

The herbicide that will be used later this month, with a brand name of Reward®, has the active ingredient diquat dibromide, which will be applied "via subsurface injection through perforated hose from a surface watercraft into a 41-acre area of Northeast Pond," which comprises 685 acres all together.

The area in which the herbicide will be used stretches along the east side of Northeast Pond toward the Salmon Falls River.

McPhedran said the area, which is all in Lebanon, has the "highest density Naiad growth that we have seen.

The precautionary warnings for the treatment area once the herbicide is applied include

- drinking water restrictions for 3 days post application

- livestock/domestic animal consumption restriction for 1 day post application

- irrigation to turf and landscape ornamentals restriction for 3 days post application

- irrigation to food crops and production ornamentals restriction for 5 days post application.

McPhedran said the herbicide has no restrictions on swimming, but he would advise the public not to swim on the day of treatment. Boating should be OK, but he would again, simply advise against any possible contact with the treatment or treatment area.

"There is no restriction on swimming on the day of treatment," he stressed. "But we advise that as an added safety measure, just to eliminate any potential for accident with the (application) boat."

McPhedran said after the chemical treatment, Maine DES will monitor the herbicide levels in the area until it can no longer be detected.

New areas of infestation in Milton Pond include the coves above Trainor and Pleasant Point roads and at the northermost tip of Pleasant Point in Lebanon; and just north of Depot Pond Road in Milton.