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News - Herbicide Spraying of Harbours and Ponds

Ministry of the Environment (MOE) guidelines restrict the use of water from the treated locations:
1) Do not use the water from the pond or harbour for swimming or animal consumption for 24 hours after the herbicide application.
2) Do not use the water from the pond or harbour for irrigation or human consumption for 5 days after the herbicide application.

A follow up email will specify the exact dates and locations of the herbicide application and each location will have signs posted for 5 days at common access points.

This treatment is applied annually during the month of July to the harbours and to some ponds where excessive weed growth has been identified. Although the exceptionally warm weather and rapidly increasing water temperature has accelerated weed growth this year, the spraying cannot be done until the fish spawning season is substantially complete on July 15th. Herbicide cannot be applied until after that date, otherwise it violates the federal Fisheries Act and the provincial Pesticides Act. The herbicide to be applied is "Reward" and has been used sparingly and safely in the BVA common waters for at least 7 years. There has been no evidence of any adverse effect on any aquatic life (other than the target weeds) during this time.