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Egeria Densa Meeting

Egeria Densa Meeting. Supervisor Mary Nejedly Piepho September 29, 2010. What is Egeria Densa?. Egeria Densa was a popular aquarium plant that was introduced unwittingly by someone discarding the contents of a fish tank into the Delta.

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Egeria Densa Meeting

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  1. Egeria Densa Meeting Supervisor Mary Nejedly Piepho September 29, 2010

  2. What is Egeria Densa? • Egeria Densa was a popular aquarium plant that was introduced unwittingly by someone discarding the contents of a fish tank into the Delta. • The plants are rooted on the bottom of the Delta waterways as deep as 20 feet.

  3. Impacts • Most of its impact occurs in the shallow waterways. The plant forms thick mats that obstruct boat passage, clog water intakes and aqueducts, trap sediments, crowd out native vegetation, and impede the migration of anadromous fish. • Only the male plants exist in the Delta, propagating not by seed but via cuttings. Cutting the weeds exacerbates the problem as shreds of the plant merely float away and re-propagate. • This weed surfaces more than 12% of the entire delta.

  4. Local Impacts • The waterways are choked by the weeds • Fouling propellers and making navigation difficult for watercraft • Farmers and the fire protection district that draw water from the Delta, complain that their diversion equipment is fouled by the weed

  5. Local Impacts (continued) • Discovery Bay

  6. Bethel Island Local Impacts (continued)

  7. Health & Safety Impacts • Contra Costa Water District intake is in the area of Egeria Densa concentration. • The Water District manages this issue by placing screens on their intakes and periodically cleaning them. • Regional Water Quality Control Board has expressed concern over herbicides used to address this issue due to the copper levels in the Delta waters. • Herbicides pose a potential negative impact due to current copper levels that may be present in the Delta.

  8. Legislation • AB 2193 (Rainey) • This bill designated the Department of Boating and Waterways as the lead agency and authorize, but provide no funding, to control Egeria Densa in the Delta, its tributaries and marshes. • Improve Techniques for Eradicating Non-Native Submerged and Floating Aquatic Vegetation from Delta Waterways (The Delta Stewardship Council) • The Delta Stewardship Council may address Improved Techniques for Eradicating Non-Native Submerged and Floating Aquatic Vegetation from Delta Waterways.

  9. Potential Funding Mechanisms • Existing Funding Sources • Federal and State • Potential future Water Bonds

  10. August 18, 2010 - This truckload of Ergeia Densa weeds were dropped on the driveway of the Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District office over the weekend, prohibiting staff and the public from entering or exiting the facility until Monday morning. Ignoring the issue is not the solution

  11. Where Do We Go From Here? • What others are doing? • Current Solutions • Future Solutions -Ignoring the problem is only going to compound the issue

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