Preparing to spray for hydrilla

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US Army Corps of Engineers

Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Website

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District is on a mission to fight hydrilla, an aggressive plant species that has wreaked havoc from Asia to every continent except Antarctica.

“Hydrilla completely chokes out our waterways and impacts all the things we enjoy,” said Michael Greer, USACE Buffalo District project manager. “It affects water quality, the economy, businesses, hydropower and flood reduction - ultimately our health and our wallets.”

“A single aquatic plant could put all of that at risk,” warned New York Senator Charles Schumer in 2017.

Preparing to spray for hydrilla

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team members and partners began spraying for hydrilla, an aquatic invasive species, located in the Erie Canal, North Tonawanda, NY July 22, 2014. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, is serving as the lead agency for an eradication demonstration project for control of the invasive plant in the Erie Canal and Tonawanda Creek. Eradication is particularly important given the economic and ecological value of the waterway and risk of spread to multiple water bodies throughout New York and the Great Lakes.

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Photo by: Andrew Kornacki | VIRIN: 140722-A-IF251-000.JPG

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