ONONDAGA COUNTY — Water chestnuts have become a big problem all across the United States – and that includes in Onondaga County.
“We manage over 60 acres of water chestnut here in Onondaga County and there’s still more water chestnut to be managed,” says Mark Burger, executive director of the Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District.
Water chestnuts are considered an invasive species. The plants grow in slow moving bodies of water and in water depths of up to 16 feet. They return year after year and quickly multiply into a large infestation, and cause many problems for boaters, swimmers, and the ecosystem in general.
Burger shared important information about water chestnuts with members of the Onondaga County Legislature’s Environmental Protection committee, in a meeting held on the shores of the Seneca River in Liverpool. There was also a visual display of how water chestnuts are identified and removed by hand from the water.
“Our waterways, our lakes, our rivers, the canal, these are the gems of the Finger Lakes,” says Legislator Julie Abbott, who chairs the committee. “They’re drinking water. They’re boating and recreation and therefore, they’re economic drivers which is what we at the county survive off of: sales tax revenues. When these invasives come in, it changes the whole ecosystem and so, we are trying to put money towards a long range comprehensive plan to keep these invasive species, these water chestnuts, out of here.”
Legislators need to approve money each year to help with remediation. In recent years, they’ve allocated $100,000 but Abbott says she hopes that amount can be increased in the 2023 budget.
“One plant can turn into over 300 new plants through the seed re-propagation and so it’s very important for them to continue committing the funding to help us manage water chestnuts across Onondaga County,” adds Burger, whose agency, in 2021 alone, removed over 1.6 million pounds of water chestnuts from county waterways.
Legislator Ken Bush Jr. is all too familiar with water chestnuts. His 13th District includes both the Seneca River and Cross Lake, where the invasive species has been found. He says it’s a major quality of life issue that needs to be dealt with.
“The water chestnut plants are a very serious invasive plant that are an economic and environmental threat to our waterways and communities,” Bush says. “Onondaga County, in partnership with Onondaga County Soil and Water, have embarked on a five year plan to attack the spread of the plant and remove as much as possible of the plants from the rivers and Cross Lake.”
Bush and Abbott agree on one thing: the work for removing and eradicating water chestnuts needs to fall on everyone in the county.
“It is important that homeowners work and remove the plants in front of their properties,” adds Bush. “Everyone working together can make a difference.”
