[jpd0144]

Originally Posted by Catch

Wanted to respond to this post, but forgot about it until now. Live near Rodemacher. Cleco overstocked the number of grass carp for the lake acreage, so that definitely has been one problem. But the bigger problem was the clearcut of land in the lake drainage. THAT'S the real reason why the lake stays muddy.

There has been succession growth in the drainage area, so the amount of silt coming into the lake is on the decline. The grass is also coming back. Last fall the water was a bit clearer - greenish to be exact - visibility about 1 foot. Then all this rain has muddied things back up.

Cleco recognized their issues with the lake and sought means to mitigate. The first proposal from LDWF - IMO, the best solution - was to drop a few tons of gypsum into the lake. Instead, they listened to some professor from Texas who suggested using this new technology that places an ionic charge on water. As water is used to cool, it's given a charge as it's pumped back into the lake. The charged water binds with suspended clay particles and drops out.

The problem is that the existing loose clay sediments needed to be bonded. That's what the gypsum would've done. This technology will work but without the gypsum solution, it'll just take much longer (and cost more money!).

As for the grass carp, the district biologist told me that LDWF suggested far fewer carp than what was stocked. But since Cleco is a private lake, it was their call.

BTW, grass carp may be saving more lakes in the Cenla area than ruining. The hydrilla they eat is good for bass, but too much of it builds up and soon you have vast islands where giant salvania takes hold. If the hydrilla is controlled, the salvania is limited to shorelines where spraying has been very effective.

Good read for sure ! Thanks for posting !