Weed Weapons — Specially Designed Harvester Added To CLA Fleet
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11/23/2007 - The Post-Journal Staff
editorial@post-journal.com
A new harvester, specially designed for Chautauqua Lake, will be out on the lake in 2008.
Paul W. Swanson, Chautauqua Lake Association general manager, worked closely with Stephen Walczyk, Alpha Boats president, to design the new piece of equipment to fit the lake association's needs. Board members decided it is important to order the harvester now for next year as a sign of the association's commitment to being a good steward of Chautauqua Lake.
According to Terry L. Havens-Turner, the Hultquist Foundation donated $70,000 to help pay for the new harvester.
"It is very much appreciated by the CLA Board to have the Hultquist Foundation be a part of this purchase,'' said Tad Wright, association president. ''We rely on the foundations to support us with capital improvements.''
During the summer, Paul Swanson coordinated the operations overseeing the cleaning of 42 miles of shoreline manually by the barge crews, which cleaned between 100 and 200 tons of weeds each day. Removing the weeds makes the lake cleaner and removes the nutrients they provide when they fall to the bottom of the lake bed.
The Chautauqua Lake Association hauled 100 to 200 tons of seaweed daily from the shores of Chautauqua Lake between June and the end of the association's summer season. With the help of the county funding and the Chautauqua Lake Management Commission, the association also started a special second shift between 2 and 9 p.m. five days a week and Saturday mornings until noon. Association harvesters were working in all three bases; Mayville, Shore Acres and the association's Lakewood home, as the transport barges unloaded them to bring the weeds to shore to load the trucks from the conveyors.
"I was so pleased to have this opportunity to help the communities that support us,'' Swanson said. ''The evening crews picked up where the day crews finished at 3:30 p.m., so there was continued attention to the areas we were working in. We provided one of our two new small trucks with a driver and crew for the areas too shallow for the barges to go into. So many people came up to me saying how much they appreciated our service and how wonderful the crews were in helping them especially the Hadley Bay, Mayville, Dewittville and Burtis Bay residents. For the first time ever we had completed the shoreline cleanup by July 28, only to start over again and address the problem areas.''
Wright said the new harvester will give the association eight such machines to use this summer, though more investment will be necessary because the fleet is aging.
''As we move forward the purchase of new equipment to replace our aging 20 to 30-year-old six harvesters and four barges is a paramount concern,'' Wright said. ''Our new harvester that was delivered cost about $140,000. Hopefully, we will have the funds next year to man the new equipment, including this new harvester, with a second shift again. We depend on donations for 60 percent of our operations and appreciate that the foundations have always supported us in the past with assistance in buying equipment.''
editorial@post-journal.com
A new harvester, specially designed for Chautauqua Lake, will be out on the lake in 2008.
Paul W. Swanson, Chautauqua Lake Association general manager, worked closely with Stephen Walczyk, Alpha Boats president, to design the new piece of equipment to fit the lake association's needs. Board members decided it is important to order the harvester now for next year as a sign of the association's commitment to being a good steward of Chautauqua Lake.
According to Terry L. Havens-Turner, the Hultquist Foundation donated $70,000 to help pay for the new harvester.
"It is very much appreciated by the CLA Board to have the Hultquist Foundation be a part of this purchase,'' said Tad Wright, association president. ''We rely on the foundations to support us with capital improvements.''
During the summer, Paul Swanson coordinated the operations overseeing the cleaning of 42 miles of shoreline manually by the barge crews, which cleaned between 100 and 200 tons of weeds each day. Removing the weeds makes the lake cleaner and removes the nutrients they provide when they fall to the bottom of the lake bed.
The Chautauqua Lake Association hauled 100 to 200 tons of seaweed daily from the shores of Chautauqua Lake between June and the end of the association's summer season. With the help of the county funding and the Chautauqua Lake Management Commission, the association also started a special second shift between 2 and 9 p.m. five days a week and Saturday mornings until noon. Association harvesters were working in all three bases; Mayville, Shore Acres and the association's Lakewood home, as the transport barges unloaded them to bring the weeds to shore to load the trucks from the conveyors.
"I was so pleased to have this opportunity to help the communities that support us,'' Swanson said. ''The evening crews picked up where the day crews finished at 3:30 p.m., so there was continued attention to the areas we were working in. We provided one of our two new small trucks with a driver and crew for the areas too shallow for the barges to go into. So many people came up to me saying how much they appreciated our service and how wonderful the crews were in helping them especially the Hadley Bay, Mayville, Dewittville and Burtis Bay residents. For the first time ever we had completed the shoreline cleanup by July 28, only to start over again and address the problem areas.''
Wright said the new harvester will give the association eight such machines to use this summer, though more investment will be necessary because the fleet is aging.
''As we move forward the purchase of new equipment to replace our aging 20 to 30-year-old six harvesters and four barges is a paramount concern,'' Wright said. ''Our new harvester that was delivered cost about $140,000. Hopefully, we will have the funds next year to man the new equipment, including this new harvester, with a second shift again. We depend on donations for 60 percent of our operations and appreciate that the foundations have always supported us in the past with assistance in buying equipment.''
For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com
2 comments:
I am always searching online for articles that can help me and this is one of them. Thanks for sharing this article, great way of bring such topic to discussion.
Aquatic weed control is very important for clean lakes. But only certified and approved aquatic pesticides should be used.
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