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Weed Treatment Continues at Lake Quonnipaug in Guilford

After weeds were successfully removed from the swimming area of Lake Quonnipaug earlier this summer, the town is now ready to begin tackling invasive weeds in other areas of the lake, according to Parks & Recreation Director Rick Maynard. The department recently received the results of the pre-treatment survey and is now ready to take the next step.

Removal of the invasive weeds is designed to improve the health of the lake. Maynard said the first phase of the project, which involved the use of benthic blankets to smother the weeds, was successful.

“The benthic blankets, those were very effective,” he said. “The lifeguards have said it is much better than it used to be.”

Now the town will look to remove invasive weeds in a 10-acre area in the north end of the lake and an eight-acre section in a shallow area in the middle of the lake. Officials will use herbicides to treat the weeds and are expected to begin treatment this week.

“It should only take them two or three days, weather dependent,” he said. “The permit had to be approved by Department of Energy & Environmental Protection [DEEP] and the chemical that was on the permit had to be approved by them,” he said.

Maynard said he does not believe the lake will be closed during treatment.

“I think not because we are not treating the beach area, but if it is, we will put a sign up,” he said. “Based on my conversations, we are not likely going to need to close the beach, but it will be posted so people will be aware that there will be chemicals in the lake if they chose not to swim.”

The project to remove the weeds was made possible by a donation from the Guilford Foundation, a state grant, and matched town funding. In January, DEEP announced Guilford will receive $20,000 for the remediation of aquatic invasive species at Lake Quonnipaug.

The town has to match the state grant in order to complete the project and even after two failed referendums, Maynard said there is still funding to complete the project.

“We are anticipating this will go well,” he said. “Obviously, we can’t do the whole lake because you need some weeds because they are important to the whole ecosystem, but at least with these invasive ones we should have a good shot at eliminating them or reducing them quite a bit.”