By Nicholas Calvino, For Abington News
The Conservation Commission has given approval for the use of a chemical treatment to kill off the invasive weeds choking out Island Grove Pond.
Water and Wetland, LCC, has been hired by the town to treat the pond with fluridone, a herbicide sold under the brand name Sonar Genesis. The company told the Commission that it will treat the water in April and May, that way it has time to work before the busy summer recreation season.
Joe Oronato, one of Water and Wetlands’ co-founders, said the herbicide will kill off the fernwort, the long stringy weed that has made the pond unfriendly to boaters, fishermen, and wildlife.
“These are a really invasive species of plant and we want the pond to be swimmable and fishable for the summer time,” he said.
Weeds in Island Grove Pond have been an off-and-on problem for decades. A 2019 survey of Abington residents brought it back up as a growing problem.
Commission members and residents voiced some concerns about the use of chemicals in such an environmentally sensitive and highly used water body, especially near nesting season.
Phil Player, who lives on Granite Street, asked what would happen to the lawns and gardens that are at the water’s edge.
“Unless you physically dump the pond water on the plants or lawn, they will be fine and won’t harm plants that aren’t in the water,” Oranato said.
Lake Street resident Sheila Lambert asked how long it will take for the chemical to start working.
Oranato said the process can take “anywhere from 45-60 days” to complete. After three weeks they will go back, do another survey, and apply another dose of the chemicals, he said.
The most notable sign that the plants are dying and that the chemicals are working is that the fernwort will turn a bright pink. Residents will notice that change in about six weeks, he said.
Park Avenue resident Chris Morton asked if the treatment was going to be used in all the town’s bodies of water, or just Island Grove. Oronato said they are only treating Island Grove.
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