Aquatic weeds in Watts Bar Lake subject of May informational meeting [photos]

By Ben Benton

SPRING CITY, Tenn. — By late summer, the water weeds are so thick you could almost walk on parts of Watts Bar Lake without getting wet.

Invasive aquatic plants that mass around boat docks on the Tennessee River are starting to grow and will begin to cause access problems by late May or June, said Gary Venice, a Spring City real estate broker, boater and lake user.

The worst offenders are Eurasian watermilfoil, especially hydrilla. The non-native species flourish in the Tennessee River because they have no native enemies, and they compete with native plant species for habitat.

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