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Nov 13, 2023

Harpooning the algae: Glenwood Lake reopens for fishing, boating

People who love a Mercer County lake have been frustrated for weeks after a decision was made to close the lake to fishing and boating, two of the most popular summertime activities. This ban was

People who love a Mercer County lake have been frustrated for weeks after a decision was made to close the lake to fishing and boating, two of the most popular summertime activities. This ban was lifted Thursday when a problem that has dwelled its waters started to abate.

Glenwood Lake near Princeton was closed after a thick bloom of algae and an invasive Brazilian water weed started filling one end of it near New Hope Road. This water weed is sold in pet shops as an aquarium plant, but it’s a problem all over the country. The weed gets into waterways and lakes when tropical fish enthusiasts pour out their dirty aquarium water.

The resulting mix of blue-green algae and water weed created a thick blanket over the lake’s swallower area. There were times when the lake looked more like land than water. Park personnel and the Mercer County Commission decided to close the lake while the Green Valley-Glenwood Public Service District addressed the bloom.

Eliminating this aquatic growth was not an easy task. PSD employees tried raking up the algae and weed, but the boat would stall because the growth was so thick. The lake’s paddle boats were removed because the weed was too thick for them to operate.

The Green Valley-Glenwood PSD’s general manager, Scott Clark, and other members of the PSD’s staff had to find an algaecide capable of removing both the blue-green algae and the Brazilian water weed without harming other aquatic life or posing a threat to people using the lake.

After researching available products, they settled on an algaecide known as Harpoon.

During this process, the PSD and the county commission urged the public to be patient. The rest of Glenwood Recreation Park remained open for picnicking, hiking and other outdoor activities while work continued on a new amphitheater, new picnic shelters, pickleball courts, a refurbished tennis court, a refurbished basketball court and other improvements.

Clark and other PSD employees started the laborious task of spreading the algaecide over the impacted parts of the lake. Testing had to be done to make sure the product didn’t lower the water’s oxygen content too much and harm fish. Using a boat and spraying machine, they started treating about a third of the lake at a time. This method allowed fish to move to other parts of the lake if oxygen levels dropped. This technique requires patience.

Gradually, the algae starting changing color and dying off. Parts of the lake being smothered by that blanket of dark greens started opening up and began looking more like water than land.

The decision was made late Thursday afternoon to reopen Glenwood Lake for fishing and boating.The paddle boats are not going back in the water just yet, but other boats are allowed. The only motors boaters can use are electric trolling motors.

Algae is still covering parts of the lake, so boaters and fishing enthusiasts are being urged to focus their pastimes at the end of the lake closer to its dam. That section, which is deeper, is largely clear of the algae bloom.

Addressing Glenwood Lake’s algae and water weed problem has required a lot of research and hard work from the Glenwood-Green Valley PSD, and the job isn’t over yet. PSD employees will need to keep monitoring the lake and applying algaecide in order to make sure the pervasive aquatic growth is under control. The sheer toughness of any invasive species, be it flora or fauna, makes getting them under control difficult.

More hard work and patience will go into Glenwood Lake’s problems until they are resolved, but the public should be grateful for what the PSD has been able to accomplish. They worked hard to find a solution and then put even more work into applying that solution so visitors can start enjoying the lake again. Thanks to their efforts, Glenwood Lake is open again for the rest of the summer.

Contact Greg Jordan at [email protected]

10 a.m., at the Calvin Presbyterian Church in Norfolk, Va. Burial will follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk, Va.

11 a.m., at St. Peter Catholic Church in Welch. Entombment will follow at Woodlawn Memorial Park Mausoleum in Bluewell.

1 p.m., at the Memorial Funeral Directory Chapel in Princeton. Burial will follow at Roselawn Cemetery in Princeton.

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