Sharbot Lake Property Owners Association And Eurasian Milfoil

Like other lake associations in Eastern Ontario, the Sharbot Lake Property owners have become increasingly concerned about the impact of Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM).

Along with concern over algae bloom concerns, which are less predictable, the spread of milfoil along shallow sections of lakes is a concern not only for impacted cottage owners, but for everyone who fishes, boats or swims in lakes that have been impacted. Sharbot Lake Property Owners Association (SLPOA) President Ken Waller told the assembled crowd at the Association’s AGM last Saturday, at the Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake, that SLPOA is not promoting the use of a herbicide to curtail EWM.

However, the association did arrange for a zoom presentation with a representative from SeePRO, an American company that produces an herbicide called ProcellaCOR.

As the rep pointed out, ProcellaCOR has been under development since 2009, and was developed specifically to penetrate milfoil and other similar plants though hormone receptors in EWM  that other aquatic plants do not possess.

As he demonstrated in some of the slides during the presentation, within weeks of Procella applications on lakes in the United States and Canada, water lily populations are seen in places that were previously overrun by EWM.

ProcellaCOR was approved for use in the United States in 2018, and in Canada a couple of years later. During one test study, it was applied over an entire lake in Central Ontario, and the not only did the EWM dissipate from the lake, longer term evaluations of the lake showed a return of native species and no indication of impacts biodiversity in the lake, according to the SeePro rep.

EWM requires clear water to develop, and has a limit of about a 20-foot depth before the water is too deep for it to survive.

The major infestations in Sharbot Lake are in the more shallow east basin of the lake.

AS Ken Waller pointed out, the association does not have any authority over open water in the lake, so even if they had the resources to fund a large-scale application of ProceallCOR, they could not get the necessary approvals from upper levels of government.

But waterfront property owners are able to get approval for an application of ProcellaCOR up to 30 metres out from their shoreline, as long as their neighbours on both sides sign a letter of consent.

There are two companies that do the application in the region, and one of them, Peerless Aquacare of Kitchener, came out to Sharbot Lake this week after being contracted by a group of neighbours in one section of the east basin.

One property owner who was at the meeting, said that it is costing her $1,500 for Peerless to apply ProcellaCOR in the water in front of her property, and while EWM will likely eventually return because it will spread back in from elsewhere in the lake, it should take 2 or 3 years for that to happen.

The company deals with all of the permitting that is required as part of their service.

Even if all property owners who are impacted, decided to do the application, EWM would still be able to thrive, especially on the east basin, because of shallow areas in the lake itself, including the bay near the passage between the two basins.

Previous attempts to control EWM, including one in that bay which used rakes and a barge, did curtail EWM for a time in those locations, but only helped EWM spread more quickly elsewhere in the lake.

Thanks to a collaboration with the geography class at Granite Ridge Education Centre, and the efforts of Don Combs, the Environmental Officer with SLPOA who is a budding citizen drone scientist in his own right, much of the EWM infestation in the east basin of Sharbot Lake is documented in detail.

When asked about the west basin, Combs said he does not know the west basin as well, since he does not know people there, and he needs to use people's docks in order to run his drone.

“I need permission to operate a drone from someone's dock,” Combs said while giving his Environmental Officer presentation to the meeting.

Other Lake Association, including the Mazinaw Lake Property Owners Association (MLPOA) and the Malcolm and Ardoch Lake Association (MALLA), have been dealing  with EWM for several years.

The MLPOA attempted to engage government officials at various levels to see if they would take on a lake level application of ProcellaCOR to deal with 27 well mapped EWM patches in Mazinaw Lake.

In the documentation of their research and policy work on the MLPOA website, ProcellaCOR is characterised as a “a safe and effective solution, ensuring that Mazinaw Lake remains a vibrant and usable resource for all members of the community.”

But efforts to convince provincial and federal officials to take on a large scale ProcellaCOR application  to try to remove it from Mazinaw Lakw, have not proven successful as of yet.

MPOA described their efforts on their website.

“The MPOA has sought the assistance of government advisors, and will engage our elected officials in new and strategic ways to seek their leadership on this issue. These efforts include requests for multi level government meeting(s) ...Should the government take the lead in managing EWM, they will determine the best course of action, whether it is the use of Health Canada approved aquatic herbicides, (consistent with their invasive species management plans in abutting watersheds and nearby federally controlled waters), or a different approach. Until it is known what leadership role the government will take, if at all, the MPOA will wait before pursuing further steps, including seeking ProcellaCOR FX to manage the EWM in the lake.