Water hyacinth is an aquatic, noxious weed introduced to North America from the Amazon. It's commonly sold online for backyard ponds, but what few people know is that it's extremely harmful to our local ecosystems. In Wilmington, water hyacinth has completely overtaken portions of Burnt Mill Creek.
Water hyacinth floats on the surface of the water, quickly growing a thick black mat of impenetrable roots. It blocks out sunlight, negatively impacting any plants growing in the water body and can crowd out native plants, preventing them from growing. Other aquatic species such as turtles can't come up to breathe at the surface of the water, trapped beneath the root matting. Water hyacinth also reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in a water body, clogs up storm drains and pipes, and can lead to increased flooding.
You might have recently read an article about the City of Wilmington purchasing an expensive aquatic mower: this was to remove huge amounts of water hyacinth from Burnt Mill Creek and other waterbodies, which will have to be repeated every year during our warm summer months. Read more about that here: [ Ссылка ]
What you can do to combat water hyacinth: 1) If you see it around town, take some photos & record the address or note the coordinates and contact Stormwater Services to let them know! 2) Don't purchase Water Hyacinth! Purchase native, aquatic vegetation instead. 3) Spread the word to your friends and neighbors!
