Help/advice on cleaning lake weeds required

Yorky

There are going to be water safety and swimming classes at a local lake next week so a small army of volunteers went down to carry out a clean-up. The problem this year is it is choked with weeds; only a recent phenomenon apparently due to the fact that it is not being used as a reservoir any more(?).

We used rakes, forks and a makeshift grid attached to a ladder on a small boat and got loads out but it really was tokenism as only the top couple of feet were cleared. For next year, they are going to be sprayed which can only be done in October apparently and then barley straw placed at various places in the lake to prevent re-growth.

For next week though we really need a quick fix. Is there a purpose-made device which could be attached to a boat and dragged around the small area we need to clear? This is in a rural area and would be the only means of learning about water safety and to swim for many children.

Any advice/comments would be greatly appreciated as we are quickly running out of time and may have to cancel the event.

seadeuce

You don't mention the scale of the problem, but you might be able to get two divers down there with garden shears who could clear an area the size of a swimming pool to accommodate the kids.

Of course, what the divers cut must be collected by the surface team.

Don't think spraying might be a great idea, environment and all that. If one could cover a small area, photosynthesis would not take place, and theoreticelly the weed would not grow.

Seadeuce