Section Of CT River In Glastonbury Part Of Invasive Plant Study

GLASTONBURY, CT — A section of the Connecticut River in Glastonbury will be part of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers research and demonstration project that aims to "better understand and control" the invasive aquatic plant hydrilla that is currently spreading throughout the lower part of the waterway.

Ahead of the work, crews will be applying Rhodamine WT tracer dye to four sites to study "water exchange dynamics" in an effort to development individual herbicide treatment plans for control of the hydrilla at each location, officials said.

Keeney Cove in Glastonbury is among the four sites to be studied.

"There will be impacts to the color of the water at the sites and surrounding areas as the dye is bright red in color, but these are expected to be minimal and short term as the dye will dilute and dissipate with the flow and tides of the river," Army Corps officials said.

The dye will be applied to the waters of the four sites from Aug 7 through Sept. 15 with an alternate end date of Sept. Work will take place Monday through Friday.

The schedule is subject to change and will be updated and posted to the USACE project website:

• https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Projects-Topics

Here is the full schedule: