UPDATE: MARCH 17 • 2022
FINALLY! Lake John was treated today! The contractor sprayed the north end via boat, and the south end by walking the perimeter and spraying with a backpack. Hopefully, the invasive water plants will be gone soon. Thanks to the applicator and the City employees who addressed this problem. No native plants, fish, birds, reptiles, or mammals were harmed in this process—in fact, our fish population was at serious risk of dying off had the invasive plants not been treated.
UPDATE: MARCH 9 • 2022
After multiple follow-ups with City officials to inquire why treatment was not done as promised—and without going into detail, receiving responses that treatment will take place "soon"—the person who will actually be doing the spraying stopped by Lake John today to survey the current state of both the water hyacinth and the duckweed that seems to get worse by the hour. He said he needs to give a quote to the City, and that once the quote is accepted he will be back to spray. The spray date is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 19. Stay tuned!
UPDATE: FEBRUARY 11 • 2022
We just received official word from the City of Mount Dora. The City has agreed to treat Lake John for water hyacinth! The technician should be here next week to apply the treatment.
UPDATE: FEBRUARY 7 • 2022
There is confusion as to who should be treating the water hyacinth in Lake John. When the question has been asked, responses have included the City of Mount Dora, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Lake County Water Authority (LCWA), the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), and Lake John residents themselves.
To try to get a definitive, documented answer, emails were sent to the LCWA, the SJRWMD, and the FWC. Here are the responses received:
The LCWA stated they do not treat for aquatic vegetation—FWC is in charge of that, but FWC might not treat Lake John as the lake does not have a public access boat ramp for boating.
The SJRWMD directed us to the Invasive Plant Management department of the FWC.
The FWC stated that their aquatic plant program only treats public waterbodies, and they said that Lake John is a private lake.
BUT…is Lake John a private lake? We went to the Lake County Property Appraiser's website for information. See the photo below. Although there are private property owners around the lake, County records show that the land under the lake and long stretches of shoreline are owned by two parties—the State of Florida and the City of Mount Dora. The most invasive patch of water hyacinth currently is in a part of Lake John owned by the City of Mount Dora. Which brings us to this:
Several residents have contacted the City of Mount Dora to inquire about having Lake John treated for water hyacinth. The City has treated water hyacinth on Lake John in the past and pledged to continue maintenance spraying as needed (we have documentation). That clearly has not been happening. The current Director of Public Works has been contacted and stated that all inquiries about treating Lake John's water hyacinth problem should be directed to him, and not any of the other agencies.
(Note: even if Lake John is considered a "private lake" that should be maintained by the property owners, the City of Mount Dora is one of those owners, and owns the spot where the water hyacinth is out of control.)
So it appears the responsibility is with the City, and the City is aware of the problem.
The question is, when will the problem be addressed? A patch of water hyacinth can double in size in as little as two weeks during growing season. A 1-acre patch becomes 2 acres in two weeks, 4 acres two weeks after that, then the entire lake could be covered in two more weeks. Time is of the essence!
Stay tuned, updates will be posted when received.
FINALLY! Lake John was treated today! The contractor sprayed the north end via boat, and the south end by walking the perimeter and spraying with a backpack. Hopefully, the invasive water plants will be gone soon. Thanks to the applicator and the City employees who addressed this problem. No native plants, fish, birds, reptiles, or mammals were harmed in this process—in fact, our fish population was at serious risk of dying off had the invasive plants not been treated.
UPDATE: MARCH 9 • 2022
After multiple follow-ups with City officials to inquire why treatment was not done as promised—and without going into detail, receiving responses that treatment will take place "soon"—the person who will actually be doing the spraying stopped by Lake John today to survey the current state of both the water hyacinth and the duckweed that seems to get worse by the hour. He said he needs to give a quote to the City, and that once the quote is accepted he will be back to spray. The spray date is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 19. Stay tuned!
UPDATE: FEBRUARY 11 • 2022
We just received official word from the City of Mount Dora. The City has agreed to treat Lake John for water hyacinth! The technician should be here next week to apply the treatment.
UPDATE: FEBRUARY 7 • 2022
There is confusion as to who should be treating the water hyacinth in Lake John. When the question has been asked, responses have included the City of Mount Dora, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Lake County Water Authority (LCWA), the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), and Lake John residents themselves.
To try to get a definitive, documented answer, emails were sent to the LCWA, the SJRWMD, and the FWC. Here are the responses received:
The LCWA stated they do not treat for aquatic vegetation—FWC is in charge of that, but FWC might not treat Lake John as the lake does not have a public access boat ramp for boating.
The SJRWMD directed us to the Invasive Plant Management department of the FWC.
The FWC stated that their aquatic plant program only treats public waterbodies, and they said that Lake John is a private lake.
BUT…is Lake John a private lake? We went to the Lake County Property Appraiser's website for information. See the photo below. Although there are private property owners around the lake, County records show that the land under the lake and long stretches of shoreline are owned by two parties—the State of Florida and the City of Mount Dora. The most invasive patch of water hyacinth currently is in a part of Lake John owned by the City of Mount Dora. Which brings us to this:
Several residents have contacted the City of Mount Dora to inquire about having Lake John treated for water hyacinth. The City has treated water hyacinth on Lake John in the past and pledged to continue maintenance spraying as needed (we have documentation). That clearly has not been happening. The current Director of Public Works has been contacted and stated that all inquiries about treating Lake John's water hyacinth problem should be directed to him, and not any of the other agencies.
(Note: even if Lake John is considered a "private lake" that should be maintained by the property owners, the City of Mount Dora is one of those owners, and owns the spot where the water hyacinth is out of control.)
So it appears the responsibility is with the City, and the City is aware of the problem.
The question is, when will the problem be addressed? A patch of water hyacinth can double in size in as little as two weeks during growing season. A 1-acre patch becomes 2 acres in two weeks, 4 acres two weeks after that, then the entire lake could be covered in two more weeks. Time is of the essence!
Stay tuned, updates will be posted when received.
Check out the property boundaries
and you'll see that Lake John
appears to be owned entirely
by the State of Florida
and the City of Mount Dora.
(Map from the Lake County
Property Appraiser's website)
