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Lurking just below the surface of two nameless lakes in a private community in Greely is a slimy demon weed that takes over waterways, can pose a threat to swimmers and is impossible to eradicate.
Now the growth of Eurasian milfoil, which also plagues the Rideau River and lakes across North America, has created a rift among residents of Lakeland Estates over how to contain the problem.
A chemical herbicide treatment, which is almost never used on public bodies of water in Ontario anymore, is scheduled to be applied today on the two lakes.
Larry Pegg, whose family has lived in the community since it was developed in the mid- 1980s, says the chemical application indiscriminately kills aquatic plants, will release huge amounts of nutrients that will further disrupt the water’s balance and will lead to algae growth.
“The algae blooms that are well known to come after these applications will start to affect the quality of life and the investment. Nobody wants to live by a putrid lake,” Mr. Pegg said.
The vast majority of the residents of Lakeland Estates, however, support the plan.
The foreign weed, which has lead to drownings by entangling swimmers in its thick beds of elongated strands, is quickly taking over the two lakes, according to Anne Marie Simard, president of the Lakeland Estates Lot Owners Association.
“The density has increased in a frightening way,” she said.
“It is very serious. This is at the point where the safety of our families swimming is on the line. The survival of the lake is on the line.”
The two man-made lakes, which cover about 53 acres, were originally gravel quarries and have no rivers or streams leading in or out, she added.
The association has a permit from the Ministry of the Environment to apply the chemical to 25 per cent of the surface area.
“Everything we’ve done has been legal. Everything we’ve done has been beyond the call of duty,” Ms. Simard said.
Mr. Pegg has doubts, however, that the chemical can be precisely limited to specific portions of the lake, and he said he intends to sue his neighbours and the environment ministry if the
25-per-cent limit is exceeded.
Even so, he said he questions the wisdom of using harsh chemicals to temporarily abate the milfoil. Frederick Schueler, a naturalist hired by Mr. Pegg, said the weed is visible below just five to 10 per cent of the larger lake’s surface.
Paul Hamilton, a researcher with the Canadian Museum of Nature, who advised the community after a similar set of treatments in the late 1990s, said the real problem—an overabundance of nutrients in the lake caused by lawn fertilizers and seepage from septic systems—cannot be solved with aquatic herbicides.
“The primary issue … is nitrogen and phosphorus. It’s that simple. Until they deal with that problem, everything they do at the back end is going to be a Band-Aid,” Mr. Hamilton said.
(C) Ottawa Citizen