DUCKWEED IN LAUDERDALE ISLES, SEPTEMBER 2018
You may have seen posts recently on Nextdoor with statements like:
- The green slime (duckweed) in the canal is causing us to be sick
- The green slime (duckweed) in the canal smells
- The green slime (duckweed) in the canal is toxic and killed an Iguana.
- We’ve never seen anything like this before
All of the above statements are inaccurate.
Duckweed is a small floating aquatic weed. It has no smell, and is not toxic. You will occasionally see the ducks in our waterways eating it. In fact, in some countries, duckweed is harvested and consumed by humans.
We are checking the duckweed situation on a daily basis. The worst canal has been the Bluefish canal between Key Largo and Marathon Lanes. The duckweed layer is approximately 1/8” thick and does not pose a threat to boat navigation. It is merely an aesthetic problem
We are in constant communication with the City’s Environmental Services Department regarding this issue. They advise that we should NOT spray the duckweed to kill it. Doing so will result in the dying duckweed sinking to the bottom of the canal, where it will rot and deplete the oxygen from the water, which is a lot worse than just having to look at it floating on the surface.
As happened three years ago when there was a much worse duckweed problem on the Barracuda Canal, eventually we will get a storm out of the north or northeast, and the duckweed will be blown out of the canal.
Repeating: Duckweed is NOT toxic, does NOT smell, and its presence in your canal is an aesthetic problem only. (The smell is probably a dead iguana under a dock nearby)
We will continue to monitor the situation along with the City's Environmental Services Division.
- The green slime (duckweed) in the canal is causing us to be sick
- The green slime (duckweed) in the canal smells
- The green slime (duckweed) in the canal is toxic and killed an Iguana.
- We’ve never seen anything like this before
All of the above statements are inaccurate.
Duckweed is a small floating aquatic weed. It has no smell, and is not toxic. You will occasionally see the ducks in our waterways eating it. In fact, in some countries, duckweed is harvested and consumed by humans.
We are checking the duckweed situation on a daily basis. The worst canal has been the Bluefish canal between Key Largo and Marathon Lanes. The duckweed layer is approximately 1/8” thick and does not pose a threat to boat navigation. It is merely an aesthetic problem
We are in constant communication with the City’s Environmental Services Department regarding this issue. They advise that we should NOT spray the duckweed to kill it. Doing so will result in the dying duckweed sinking to the bottom of the canal, where it will rot and deplete the oxygen from the water, which is a lot worse than just having to look at it floating on the surface.
As happened three years ago when there was a much worse duckweed problem on the Barracuda Canal, eventually we will get a storm out of the north or northeast, and the duckweed will be blown out of the canal.
Repeating: Duckweed is NOT toxic, does NOT smell, and its presence in your canal is an aesthetic problem only. (The smell is probably a dead iguana under a dock nearby)
We will continue to monitor the situation along with the City's Environmental Services Division.