Lakeside homeowners in Greely are joining forces to fight an aggressive weed choking two lakes at the private community of Lakeland Estates.
The residents' association in the south Ottawa neighbourhood took to the water on Monday to spread a herbicide on the lakes in an effort to stop the weed from spreading.
The weed -- called Eurasian Milfoil -- is stopping other plant life from growing in the two lakes and can potentially drown swimmers by trapping them in the water.
Opinion about spraying the herbicide in the community, however, is mixed.
"When it comes to the safety of our children; the survival of our recreational fun that we have invested in; the survival of our fish; survival of the healthy weeds in our lake; we feel that if there's an answer out there, we should take advantage of it and that's what we're trying to do," Anne Marie Simard of the Lakeland Estates Association told CTV Ottawa.
"Basically what's going on here is we have an influx of nutrients and we're not getting them out and that's creating an imbalance," said area resident Larry Pegg. "Applying pesticides will not solve this issue, we've got to get nutrients out or this lake is finished."
Pegg told CTV Ottawa he'll go as far as taking the association to court to put an end to the spraying.
The residents' association, meanwhile, says other measures have failed to get rid of the weed.
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