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t s it yny 9 9 3 v x t fi more thanlooting trash the annual water weed v explosion provides evidence of the trouble lake simcoe faces by mike adler 1 staff writer sitting down to talk about his new weed harvesting busi ness glen rye points his thumb at the lake beyond phil grimes back windows nearbythree hired men stand- ihg hipdeep in lake simcoe fork aquatic plants up on the breakwa ter something they dohere each week from 6 am to dusk r rye points past the men to new islands of loose weeds drifting closer to shore on the ripples of cooks bayby morning these too swill bunch up against grimes property and soon the stench will return v if that rots in the water it just releases the nutrients jn the water and causes more growth the con- tractor and keswick native adds more than the floating trash from summer boaters and winter v hutsmore than the that most of its coldwater fishery is on life support the annual water weed explosion provides tangible sticky evidence of the trouble lake simcoe is in v j a sumrnefresident- grimes has watched thelaketiere for 50 years henow battles the plants every summer all summer ina war he and his neighbours cannot win we take out 6000 to 8000 kilos a month- he says right straight through to october r v he has partnered with rye in a business they think answers a need harvesting the plants with a v motorized craft mounted on pon- toons that can skim off weeds and later with the proper permits mow along shore with a cutting blacie vtvegot four pages of names of people who want it done now says rye who was hopingto field test his custombuilt equipment- for provincial authoritiesthis week weve had calls from here to orillia v the weeds grow because lake simcoe is loaded with phosphorus a chemical found in plants and fertilizer phosphorus is natural for a lake but runoff fromsiiburban growth and agricultural is adding far too much the plants rob the coldwater fish such as lake trout of the oxy- gen they need rendering the species infertile zebra mussels spread during the last decade add to the problem by filtering the water and making it clearer observers sayyou can see twice as far downin some spotsopen- ing up new areas forplant growth not far northof grimes cot tage on the other sideof the maskinonge river is indianola beach where 6me residents wednesday night routine is lifting waterlogged weeds and dead fish off the breakwater in their private park l sometimes the volunteersfill as many as 25 bags with dead plants we work until we get done or until were fed up says linda- gbrdonlpresident of the indianola beach association the phosphorus problem could be fixed if enough people cared the lake simcoe and region conservation authority knows exactly where the worst spots are in the lakers southernwatersheds the holland river passing through urban aurora and newmarket and flowing black witli washedout soil through the holland marsh releasesonethird of lake simcoes entire phosphp- rusload the lsrca soon to release a report card on the holland river puts the total cleanup cost at 12 million as you ttaverserjtowardv- lake simcoe water quality cqnpji- ues to get wbrsesays mike jj walters the authoritys environ mental services managevu in the early 1990s the lsrca was able spend as mucli as 600000 on projects to stem ero- sion control manure and replant trees along its rivers but in 1995 its budget was slashed walters says real progress actu ally reducing the phosphorus load h would cost close to 1 million a year in recent years the authority has only been able to spend from 75000 to 200000 annuallyon the projects farmers who want improvements even those willing 9wpb2eesk5 staff photomike barrett one lakefront owner has resorted to hiring professionals to clean out the mass of seaweed that besieges his property each week to pay twbthirdsof thecost are left on waiting lists for years this isnt enough to make a 1 difference walters admits ernie mcmeekan a permanent indianola beachresiderit since 1983 is disgusted not just by the sniell of rotting weeds but by the lack of action by politicians they seem to know whats going onbut nothing ever seems to happen he said last week i think theyre going to kill this lake i really do cooks bay blooms with weeds because it is shallow the same problem afflicts lagoon city a community with a network of- canals on lake simcoes northeast shore the ramara township commu nity sprays its canals with a herbi- cide ragalona and pays for a mechanical harvester to cut the varieties ragalon does not kill its an effective measure for ussaid les hishon chairperson of lagoon citys parks and waterways com mission the town of georgina which has a userpay trashsystem can be called to pick up aquatic weeds for free if they are bagged separate ly in clear plastic it really is acost of living on the lakesays georginas waste co ordinator caroline kirkpatrick whose department picks up as many as 30 bags from a single resi dence kirkpatrick suggests the key to reducing pollution is to educate lakeusers that what they put into simcoe has long effects a lot of people dont or wont see that t there are some who say the long slow process of a lake clog- ging with vegetation until it becomes part of the land s is a natural one for parts of lake sinicoa cooks bay they say was once a marsh and maybe one again vegetation is also an important fish habitat providing spawning and cover says robert fancy a local ontario ministry of natural resources official who sees no return for lake simcoe to the con ditions of the 1950s or of the 1800s for that matter the lake is how evolving and we sort of have to roll with the punches- but michael vesselago a leader of the jacksons point west ratepayers association said peo ple have been too passive about the lakes health that is changing as residents question how local decisions on development sucli as the 400- uriit retirement complex proposed for the mouth of the black river in georgina could affect us 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