Politics & Government
Billington Sea Weed Remediation Approved Despite Environmental Concerns
While Plymouth's Environmental Manager disapproves of putting chemicals into ponds, Town Meeting decided to help homeowners deal with a major weed problem.
The Billington Sea Association proposed the town split the cost of applying the herbicide Sonar to a cove in the west end of Billington Sea. The plan also includes installation of water-proof curtain underwater to keep the herbicide in place.
A non-native water weed has invaded the cove. If it escapes, it could choke the pond, the headwater of Town Brook. The town owns half the land around the pond.
"We didn't come to this lightly," Mike Leary of the association said. "We've been studying it for 23 years."
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David Gould, the town's Director of Environmental Management, objected to the project.
"I'm not an advocate fo chemical treatment in any body of water," Gould said.
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He said the only alternative would be dredging the cove at great expense.
The weed that's invaded the cove propagates by cuttings, so harvesting it without removing the roots, spreads it. Sonar interferes with its ability to produce chlorophyll and feed itself.
"The town owns land on Billington Sea," Town Meeting Representative Janet Young, Precinct 11, said. "I think we are responsible for part of this expense."
Town Meeting approved the $23,850 expense.
