Lake Wilson
hyacinths abated
—for now

Though a path has been cleared,
the aquatic pest needs to be eradicated

By Alan Matsuoka
Star-Bulletin

Summertime, and the fishing is possible.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has plowed through the mass of water hyacinth that has clogged portions of the Lake Wilson reservoir, creating channels so boaters can maneuver through the public fishing area.

"We fished this past Sunday, and we had only one problem getting through, close to Kemoo Farms, but then after that everything was beautiful," said Jason Brockington of the Hawaii Freshwater Fishing Association.

The hyacinths started appearing in the Wahiawa waterway more than a year ago, and last month covered some 8 acres of a total estimated surface area of 350 acres.

Capable of doubling in number every 10 days, the plant has beat efforts to control the proliferation with herbicides and -- aside from creating a barrier for boaters -- threatens to become an environmental problem, as it has in parts of the South.

The department's Aquatic Resources Division cleared a path last week by devising a blade for the front of its boats, similar to a bulldozer. The corridor remains free of drifting hyacinth by using 100-foot-long oil booms donated by Chevron, said Glenn Higashi, an aquatic biologist in charge of the fishing area.

Higashi said the situation has been helped by recent rains that raised the reservoir's water level, floating nearby hyacinth over a dam spillway and into a concrete catchment basin where they die. Hyacinth are being towed to the area using booms to encircle patches, he said.

"They're growing fast, but because the water level is so high and we have so much of it going over the spillway, we're able to keep up," Higashi said.

The larger problem of eradication remains, though. Department Director Michael Wilson wants the reservoir cleared by the end of summer, but limited state funds mean a private contractor can't be hired.

State Rep. Marcus Oshiro, who represents the area, said he has written to the Army asking for manpower and equipment. The request is waiting for approval, including a legal check, he said.

Letters also have been written to Castle & Cooke, which owns the reservoir, and Del Monte, a nearby landowner. Oshiro hopes hyacinths pulled from the lake can be placed on fallow land to decompose and then be used as mulch.

Oshiro said one of the worries raised by constituents is an increase in mosquitoes because the hyacinths tend to create still pockets of water that make good breeding grounds.

"I'm pleased with the progress and the assistance we're getting from the private sector," he said. "If the Army can lend a hand, that would really speed up cleaning the lake."