This past weekend’s rainfall brought the invasive species Water Hyacinth down the Atchafalaya River Basin.
Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna said the water levels quickly increased due to nearly 10 inches of rain this weekend.
"A big problem this time of year is grass,” Dragna said. “Grass grows in them and holds them together and when all that breaks free its just big chunks that float.”
Water hyacinths commonly known as "water lilies" in ponds, small lakes, and canals were flushed out into the river. What’s most common is seeing these plants clog water ways.
"I went and looked at them and they’re not real thick,” Dragna said. “They look like it, but they’re not packed. They’re just kind of drifting together.”
Local Morgan City shrimper Donald Ribardi said this was the first time in a while he's seen this many lilies and described what he saw after the rainfall.
“The Lillies man they was real thick in there,” Ribardi said. “They were from the dock all the way out to that span out there. They was pretty thick, way up towards the bridge and packed up against the railroad bridge.”
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said the plant doesn't release toxins. But if it took over bodies of water it would deplete oxygen and kill fish. They said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers currently controls the species by mechanical removal and the use of herbicides.
Mayor Dragna said this isn’t a major problem for now and said low water levels caused the influx of the species.
"When the water came up it didn’t affect the lilies,” Dragna said. “But when the water rushes back out because all of a sudden you get more water above the river then below, because the water down the river is still low. So, it’s kind of like a tidal affect. It just sucks them out, they break free from the edges and they all ended up in the river.”
Mayor Dragna said the Water Hyacinth will be pushed out of the river naturally most likely by next week.
