District to treat water lettuce on Rainbow River

News Release

The "Southwest Florida Water Management District (Southwest Florida Water Management District)":http://watermatters.org will be treating "water lettuce(Invasive Plants)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/projects/aquaticplants/ on the Rainbow River during the week of January 11.

District workers will treat the Rainbow River from the headspring to the Withlacoochee River.

Workers will apply the aquatic herbicide Reward to scattered infestations, and post warning signs in the treatment areas noting treatment dates and "water use restrictions(Aquatic plant management herbicide table)":http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/waterman/apm/apmtable.htm. Treated river water should not be used for drinking, watering livestock or irrigating lawns and ornamental plants for one day following treatment. The treated water should not be used for irrigation of food crops for five days. Water use restrictions apply to river water only, not to tap or well water. There are no restrictions on the use of the river for swimming or fishing.

Water lettuce is a troublesome floating aquatic plant from South America that was first discovered in Florida in 1765. It is considered one of the worst weeds in the subtropical and tropical regions of the world and can double its population in less than three weeks. The management of water lettuce on the Rainbow River is a cooperative effort between the District, the "Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission(Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)":http://myfwc.com/, and the "Florida Department of Environmental Protection(Florida Department of Environmental Protection)":http://www.dep.state.fl.us/.

For more information, please call the District at 352-796-7211 or 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4537.