Chemical treatment on three of the Yahara chain of lakes will begin next week, in the annual attempt to rid the waters of algae and invasive aquatic plants.
The lakes being sprayed this year are Mendota, Monona and Waubesa.
The treatments this summer are very late in the season, said Susan Graham, lakes management coordinator with the Department of Natural Resources, so the acreage covered might be reduced.
A firm contracted by Clean Lakes Associates of Monona will do the treatments, which are done within 100 feet of the shoreline in areas that can't be reached by mechanical harvesters.
Riparian property owners can get up to 50 feet of their shoreline treated, and multi-user piers or marinas can get their entire shoreline frontage treated if nuisance conditions exist, Graham said.
A chelated copper-based herbicide will be used on filamentous algae while aquatic herbicides Aquathol K, Reward or Navigate will be applied on nuisance aquatic plants such as Eurasion water milfoil.
"Plant growth varies year to year in unpredictable fashion," Graham said in a news release announcing the spraying. "An area that experiences heavy exotic plant growth one year may have sparse or different vegetation the next."
"That's one of the reasons why we closely oversee the program," she said.
Madison's public beaches aren't part of the treatment program, so they won't be closed, but signs could be posted at beaches notifying swimmers if chemical treatments have been applied to the waters in the area near the beaches.
After the waters in an area are sprayed, two yellow signs are posted, one facing the shore and the other the water, notifying the public that spraying has taken place.
The lakes being sprayed this year are Mendota, Monona and Waubesa.
The treatments this summer are very late in the season, said Susan Graham, lakes management coordinator with the Department of Natural Resources, so the acreage covered might be reduced.
A firm contracted by Clean Lakes Associates of Monona will do the treatments, which are done within 100 feet of the shoreline in areas that can't be reached by mechanical harvesters.
Riparian property owners can get up to 50 feet of their shoreline treated, and multi-user piers or marinas can get their entire shoreline frontage treated if nuisance conditions exist, Graham said.
A chelated copper-based herbicide will be used on filamentous algae while aquatic herbicides Aquathol K, Reward or Navigate will be applied on nuisance aquatic plants such as Eurasion water milfoil.
"Plant growth varies year to year in unpredictable fashion," Graham said in a news release announcing the spraying. "An area that experiences heavy exotic plant growth one year may have sparse or different vegetation the next."
"That's one of the reasons why we closely oversee the program," she said.
Madison's public beaches aren't part of the treatment program, so they won't be closed, but signs could be posted at beaches notifying swimmers if chemical treatments have been applied to the waters in the area near the beaches.
After the waters in an area are sprayed, two yellow signs are posted, one facing the shore and the other the water, notifying the public that spraying has taken place.
