Answer
Our level of service for most residential freshwater canals maintained by the city is to provide an 80% clear water surface for the length of the canal for “aesthetic” purposes. Other canals are maintained to a “functional” level which essentially requires that at no time does aquatic vegetation cover 100% of the water surface. There is no set schedule for service as our canal maintenance contract is entirely performance-based.
Although there is no set schedule residents can view an estimated and tentative canal maintenance schedule on our website at https://www.palmcoastgov.com/government/stormwater/sprayschedule that is updated weekly by our department. This information is provided to us by our canal maintenance contractor and is a representation of where they anticipate working, but may not be the full extent of work that actually gets accomplished during the week. Many times there are also follow-up herbicide treatments from 2-4 weeks prior that are dictated by the requirements set forth on the pesticide label. The “spray scheduled week of” description on the GIS map will show a current date if that canal is on this week’s tentative schedule while the other dates will remain blank.
The Spring, Summer, and early Fall months are generally what we consider to be the growing season for aquatic weeds. Environmental conditions such as drought, low water levels, stagnant water, increased UV light penetration, and excess runoff from fertilizers can create an ideal situation for algae blooms and undesirable weed growth. Weeds such as Hydrilla are especially difficult to manage because Hydrilla can grow up to 1 inch per day per plant stem.
Our methods of weed control include herbicide applications, mechanical harvesting, and alternative canal treatments:
- Herbicide applications are generally very effective but there are legal and environmental requirements as to when and how often each herbicide can be applied. We typically recommend allowing up to 3 weeks for significant improvement as it can take some time for certain herbicides to work. Some popular treatments for Hydrilla may even take 30-60 days to take effect. As the plant matter decays it can also create more algae.
- Alternative treatments such as grass carp and insects that are natural predators of specific aquatic weeds can be effective but are generally not used as the primary means of weed control.
If a resident is concerned about the condition of their canal they may submit a Palm Coast Connect ticket at https://www.palmcoast.gov/connect or call Customer Service at 386-986-2360. A Stormwater representative will inspect the canal for compliance and present a solution for improvement if necessary. Our canal maintenance contractor will be notified and we will work together to address the situation as quickly as possible.
