Buckeye Lake canals full of plants, not water now

BUCKEYE LAKE – It's been only three months since the gates at Sellers Point and Amil gate spillways were opened to start lowering the water levels on Buckeye Lake.

Already, weeds and plant growths in some canals are waist high.

Many lake area residents and business owners are wondering what will happen if the growth goes unchecked for the next five years.

"It's pretty amazing how much vegetation is growing," Bruce Moore, a resident on Buckeye Lake, said. "I wouldn't want my jet ski out there."

Moore was at Fisher's Marina Tuesday, buying the new BLASST fundraiser T-shirt -- which renames the lake to "Mud-eye Lake" and replaces Ohio Department of Natural Resources with "Ohio Destroys Natural Resources."

He bought a pontoon boat from Fisher's Marina last summer, but sold it in March after a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report determined that the 4.1-mile earthen dam was in need of repair and water levels were lowered.

"I retired out here six years ago and (ODNR) took my playground away," he said.

Moore still takes his smaller row boat out on the lake. He rows through the shallower areas and drops a small motor in to navigate the deeper areas in the middle of the lake. But, he steers clear of the canals.

Josh Fisher, of Fisher's Marina, said he would not advise anyone to take a boat down an area full of vegetation, even after water levels come back up. The vegetation would get caught up in and damage boat cooling systems, he said.

Moore said he is worried about the canal his brother lives on, which is already full of such vegetation. He's even started to spot sugar maple saplings growing, he said.

ODNR: No plans for removal

Representatives from the Ohio Department of Agriculture paid a visit to Fisher's Marina a short time ago, Fisher said. They came to check into the plant growth in the canals, which has grown tremendously since The Advocate was there just three weeks ago.

Fisher said he was told by the officials that he could not do anything to remove the vegetation growing rapidly in the canal, and should instead await instruction from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

"It's too early to tell," John Wisse, spokesperson for the ODNR, said of any plans the department may have for removing plant growth in canals.

Wisse said that private homeowners should contact the Department of Agriculture to figure out the best ways to remove the weeds from behind their homes. But for homeowners that live on land adjoining state property, the ODNR is still reviewing what should be done about those canal areas.

Heather Lauer, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said that the canals of Buckeye Lake will not be designated as wetland areas even with all of the vegetation coming in.

"We don't anticipate reclassifying the lake," Lauer said, adding that the agency sees what's going on at the lake as a temporary situation.

In addition to weeds, she said that cottonwood trees would grow very quickly in the canals devoid of water.

The Ohio EPA has no jurisdiction over the maintenance of these canals and the vegetation springing up there. Lauer said that that responsibility falls to the ODNR.

'It's a cesspool'

Similar to Fisher's Marina, other Buckeye Lake businesses rely on canals for bringing boaters in during the summertime.

Cindy Ekin, manager of Amvets Post 51, said that she thinks her bar and restaurant business is down about 40 percent from last year. She has had to adjust the hours of the place to accommodate for the lack of customers through her door, or on the back deck with their boats.

"You have to make so much money so you can stay above water," Ekin said.

While there isn't too much vegetation visible around her docks, a look up the canal, past the Leathernecks Bar and Grill, reveals a virtual forest of plants. There's even a boat lying on the canal bed with weeds growing up around it.

Ekin said she is worried about what will happen to boat propellers if the canals are not cleared before the water level is returned to normal.

But, her biggest problem right now are the mosquitoes. Low, or almost non-existent, stagnant water has created a difficult atmosphere on her docks.

"It's like a cesspool right now," Ekin said.

abisaro@gannett.com

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