Proposed Purchase of “Weed Harvester” – Posted 10/29/2021
Proposed Purchase of “Weed Harvester”
LLCC Membership,
Members have had questions regarding of the proposed weed harvester. HOA President, Brian Smith, recently responded to a member inquiry regarding this topic. Below is the text of the email communication:
“Thank you for your October 26 email expressing your concern about the proposed purchase of a “weed harvester” contained in Lake Limerick HOA’s 2021-2022 capital budget.
Before diving into a little more background information concerning the proposal, let me assure you that the Board of Directors will make sure that any purchase makes sense before moving forward—is there a good reason for the purchase? Is this the right harvester? Is there a plan for its use? Do the benefits of its use outweigh the costs of purchase and operation?
Fun fact—many years ago the Lake Limerick HOA had a “weed harvester” that was operated in the summers by volunteers. I can only assume it broke down eventually and was replaced by a chemical weed control program supervised by our consulting lake specialist (limnologist) for the last several decades.
Lakes like Limerick and Leprechaun want to become swamps, then marshes and then meadows. It is a natural progression driven by sediment traveling down the input streams and settling out when the stream current largely ceases in the body of the lake. The streams and sediments also bring nutrients which stimulate plant growth. Plants grow, die, and settle to the bottom. Combined with the sediment (dirt) coming in with stream runoff, the lakes eventually fill up and cease to be lakes.
We currently chemically treat the lakes to reduce plant growth, both to stop the natural processes that want to fill our lakes, and to make them as attractive as possible for recreation by our members. We cannot treat plants in either lake all at once or we run the risk of upsetting the ecology of the lakes and causing noxious conditions sometimes found in other area lakes. When chemically treated, the plants die but the vegetative material and the nutrients it contains falls to the bottom and remains in the lake.
We spend up to $35,000 every year to chemically treat plants in our lakes. You have probably noticed the emergent plant die-off in Lake Leprechaun this year after a special treatment was applied for tall aquatic weeds that have been called “marestail”. The Lake/Dam/Parks Committee, consisting of volunteer members, some of whom have spent many years working with our consulting limnology specialists on both lakes, suggested purchasing a “weed harvester” as an alternative to chemical treatment. The advantages are that less chemicals are used in the lakes, and the weedy material and associated nutrients are physically removed from the lakes. If the harvester proved as effective as chemical treatment, it could theoretically pay for itself in just a few years and actually provide better results in terms of vegetative material and nutrient removal.
I hope this explains why the possible purchase of a “weed harvester” is in the budget, and why the seemingly large upfront expense might make sense. However, the Board of Directors plans to exercise due diligence to make sure any purchase proposed in the budget is thoroughly vetted before approval.
Thanks for your continued interest in the Lake Limerick HOA. Please feel free to send us your opinions at any time and of course, to join any of the volunteer committees, like the Lake/Dam/Parks Committee, established to provide the Board of Directors advice on specific topic areas.”
Brian Smith, AICP
President, Board of Directors
Lake Limerick CC HOA
Questions or concerns can be emailed to mail@lakelimerick.com
