If only weed-a known it, weed-a come wi’ t’ reight weevils!

WATERWAYS workers turned up at a Dearne canal with millions of the WRONG weevils, when they tried to combat the peagreen water...

 

British Waterways staff arrived with stocks of weed-eating weevils which just love eating South American Azolla.

But then they found the Dearne and Dove Canal in Swinton was actually infested with... duckweed!

The weevils can’t digest duckweed – so the team had to divert them to an Azolla-affected canal in Huddersfield, before the organisms died of hunger.

The team then re-drew their plans for the Dove – and visited last week to finally carry out the clean-up.

British Waterways workers joined forces with staff from Rotherham Council to use skimming nets to remove the weeds and litter.

Swinton councillor Ken Wyatt, who took part in the clean-up, said: “This area of the former Dearne and Dove Canal is a central feature in the regeneration of this particular part of Swinton.

“So we are delighted that British Waterways agreed to a clean-up of the actual water which, unfortunately, has both a weed and a litter problem.

“We have received many complaints from local residents about the state of this remainder waterway. Considerable investment has been committed to this area to improve the towpath, access steps and installing fishing platforms.

“The surface of the water, however, has been an ongoing problem due to weed infestation.

“This exercise will hopefully not only make the area look better but will also improve the water quality for local fishermen.”

British Waterways have invested more than £120,000 to improve the canal over the last few years, including a resurfaced towpath, the installation of nine new angling pegs, mass vegetation control, improved access and safety improvements.

Jonathan Hart-Woods, environment manager for British Waterways, said: “This is becoming a big issue for the waterways and one that we can’t afford to be complacent with.

“As the warm weather continues, there’s a danger that these weeds will take over completely, so we’re taking these measures as a pre-emptive strike in getting rid of this weed.”