Ocean Shores board advances aquatic treatments; $50,000 pennywort work covered by rollover funds

Ocean Shores city staff and members of the city’s waterways board agreed this week to move ahead with a summer program of aquatic-vegetation treatments and early preparation for cyanobacteria response, with a $50,000 pennywort treatment proposed and the board told the funds are available in a rollover budget.

Becky Leach, the city project manager, read a notice from Terry McNabb of AquaTechnics that said the contractor “is sending out the public notice to all lakeshore people in the next week or so” and that the first sonar herbicide treatment is planned for “late April or the first week of May.” Leach told the board AquaTechnics proposed an additional $50,000 specifically to treat pennywort and that the money is already approved in the board’s budget rollover, so the work would not need separate council approval.

Why it matters: canals and lakes in Ocean Shores provide local recreation and fish habitat, and managers said some vegetation must be retained for ecology even as nuisance species are reduced. The board’s ad hoc committees are trying to balance treatment effectiveness, habitat protection and cost so the city can present actionable options to council without rushing into high-cost solutions.

Board members asked staff for a treatment map to show exactly which zones AquaTechnics will treat and where spot treatments may occur. Leach said she would obtain and circulate a map so the board and residents can see the schedule and targeted areas.

“Pennywort is not an invasive species and we do need to keep some of the pennywort around for fish habitat,” Leach said while reading the AquaTechnics notice, adding that residents “won’t see it all go away.” She also said AquaTechnics plans to return after July 15 to spot-treat plants outside sonar-treatment zones if needed once fish-timing windows open.

Members described the board’s two ad hoc groups: an aquatic-weed ad hoc (Connie, Janet, Susan) that is reviewing specific spray and mechanical options and a cyanobacteria ad hoc (Jay, Jim, James) focused on algae-detection and lower-cost response strategies. James said his group is still in early research mode and is collecting examples dating back to about 2010 to learn what other communities tried and why some approaches were abandoned.

Council liaison Dooley briefed the board on how larger projects would be financed. He said the Herrera consulting report provides high-level cost estimates and an “outline of the problem” but does not prescribe fixes. Individual projects would be bid and submitted to council; if council were asked to undertake larger, costlier work, the stormwater utility rate would be the likely funding mechanism.

Dooley said the ad hoc committees may recommend lower-cost tactics that reduce the need for a rate increase: “What the ad hoc committee for the cyanobacteria is putting together is a lot less expensive than what you see on that report,” he said, noting some board-proposed approaches could keep total costs substantially below Herrera’s estimates.

The board also learned AquaTechnics can provide satellite readings for early bloom detection and can be asked to include cyanobacteria-targeted work when the contractor is mobilized for aquatic-weed treatments. Members discussed alternatives cited in Herrera (for example, floating “solar bees,” which the consultant said are seldom used in canals) and concluded some recommended technologies are unsuitable for local canals.

Tim reported the city’s recent cyanobacteria grant application was not awarded; he said the city received feedback and will reapply during the next funding window in October.

Public and member reminders included a request to the public to avoid home-use products or cutting methods that can release phosphorus into waterways. Board member Connie cautioned, “When plants are cut and sink down to the bottom, they can release phosphorus. That’s what causes the green algae you see.” She urged residents to check with ACE or board members before applying yard or water products.

Next steps: staff will circulate a treatment map from AquaTechnics, the ad hoc committees will continue research with an eye toward concrete recommendations by late April or May, and the board’s next regular meeting is set for May 4 at 2:00 p.m.

Actions taken during the meeting included motions excusing an absent member, approving the agenda and approving minutes from the previous two meetings; the board also voted to cancel a planned special meeting on April 20.