A non-native aquatic weed lurking in area lakes is starting to cause division among some eastern Ontario communities.
"Everyone is looking for a solution. They talk about chemical eradication but if you get 30 people on a weed-filled bay and one person disagrees with the chemical process, it won't go," said Norm Wright, a resident living on Otty Lake.
Eurasian Milfoil -- an invasive plant that feeds off nutrients created by lawn fertilizers and septic tanks -- is spreading through the Rideau lake system and making its way into the Ottawa River.
"Down near Constance Creek it's about seven feet deep and the weeds come right to the surface and if we go fishing in our aluminum fishing boat it chokes the motor," Ruth McKlusky told CTV Ottawa.
Residents who live on area lakes, though, often don't agree on the best way to deal with the weeds; while some don't want to disturb them, others say they'll do whatever they can to get rid of them.
Landowners in south Ottawa recently had their lake sprayed with a herbicide to kill off the Eurasian Milfoil. Opinion about spraying the herbicide in the community, however, was mixed.
Ottawa Riverkeeper Meredith Brown weighed in on the issue with CTV Ottawa on Thursday, stressing that chemicals are generally a bad way to get rid of weeds growing in the water.
"Herbicides are going to have an impact on the aquatic life and I think it's a band-aid solution. I think they have to address the nutrient problem that they have on that lake. They're just going to come back the next year," she said.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kate Eggins
