The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Division of Water Resources, in cooperation with Eno River State Park and the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, City of Durham, Durham County, Town of Hillsborough and Orange County, will be treating the Eno River for hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant, May 15 through Aug. 31.
The treatment area will cover approximately 22 miles of the Eno River, starting downstream of Ben Johnston Lake’s dam, near Kings Highway Park in Hillsborough, to the West Point on the Eno at U.S. 501 in Durham. The herbicide will be applied using a two-injection system to apply the appropriate amount of herbicide throughout the treatment area. The system will pump the herbicide at specified rates depending on the river’s current flow.
The herbicide, fluridone, will be used at a concentration within limits determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be safe for swimmers and boaters, and non-toxic to fish and wildlife. For additional information on water safety during the treatment, contact the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services at (919) 707-5900.
Hydrilla is a submerged aquatic plant from Asia. The invasive plant was first discovered in the Eno River watershed’s Lake Orange in the 1990s. It can create nearly impenetrable mats of stems and leaves, impeding recreational use of a waterway. It also affects native vegetation and can harm fish and other aquatic and bird species.
The Eno River Hydrilla Management Task Force first introduced the herbicide fluridone in 2015 to a 16-mile treatment zone largely within Eno River State Park in Orange and Durham counties. This was the first time the herbicide was used successfully in a river in North Carolina to address hydrilla, although it has been used elsewhere in large lakes.
The Eno River Hydrilla Management Task Force comprises federal, state and local government representatives, including staff from North Carolina State Parks, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources Aquatic Weed Control Program and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The group has been working since 2007 to evaluate and address the hydrilla threat in the Eno River.
For more information, visit the DEQ website’s Eno River Hydrilla Management Project page, or contact Drew Gay, Aquatic Weed Specialist, Division of Water Resources, at 919-707-9020, or by email at andrew.gay@deq.nc.gov.