Officials fighting invasive plant ban boats in part of lake

MGN Online

Officials are shutting down boating in part of one of Mississippi's most popular lakes, stepping up the fight against an invasive aquatic plant.

Posted: Oct 18, 2018 3:33 PM

Updated: Oct 18, 2018 3:39 PM

BRANDON, Miss. (AP) — Officials are shutting down boating in part of one of Mississippi's most popular lakes, stepping up the fight against an invasive aquatic plant.

Giant salvinia was found in June in the Pelahatchie Bay area of Ross Barnett Reservoir, north of Jackson. The fast-growing aquatic fern is native to Brazil. It can form thick mats that choke aquatic life and hamper swimming and boating.

MORE: Information on Giant Salvinia

The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District on Thursday announced it will ban boating beginning Friday in Pelahatchie Bay and continue extensive herbicide treatment. It will also drain some water from the lake over the winter, seeking to expose salvinia to freezing weather.

People must remove boats from area docks by Nov. 5

The district says it anticipates Pelahatchie Bay will remain closed for six months.

Mississippi Coronavirus Cases

Data is updated nightly.

Cases: 307836

Reported Deaths: 7119

County	Cases	Deaths
DeSoto	20784	248
Hinds	19894	408
Harrison	17493	302
Rankin	13316	275
Jackson	13099	243
Madison	9896	210
Lee	9859	169
Jones	8293	160
Forrest	7523	146
Lauderdale	7189	237
Lowndes	6265	144
Lamar	6107	84
Lafayette	6028	117
Washington	5280	132
Bolivar	4770	129
Oktibbeha	4552	97
Panola	4442	103
Pearl River	4420	139
Warren	4281	118
Marshall	4273	100
Pontotoc	4164	72
Monroe	4057	132
Union	4037	75
Neshoba	3988	176
Lincoln	3871	108
Hancock	3721	85
Leflore	3468	124
Sunflower	3293	89
Tate	3227	81
Pike	3181	104
Scott	3105	72
Yazoo	3043	68
Alcorn	2977	64
Itawamba	2968	76
Copiah	2930	65
Coahoma	2896	77
Simpson	2874	84
Tippah	2848	68
Prentiss	2756	59
Marion	2659	79
Wayne	2613	41
Leake	2611	73
Grenada	2549	82
Covington	2545	80
Adams	2459	82
Newton	2448	59
George	2378	47
Winston	2259	81
Tishomingo	2220	67
Jasper	2197	48
Attala	2133	73
Chickasaw	2048	57
Holmes	1864	71
Clay	1824	54
Stone	1791	31
Clarke	1768	76
Tallahatchie	1755	40
Calhoun	1632	30
Yalobusha	1588	36
Smith	1586	34
Walthall	1305	43
Greene	1294	33
Lawrence	1263	23
Noxubee	1259	33
Montgomery	1255	42
Perry	1251	38
Carroll	1208	26
Amite	1201	41
Webster	1134	32
Jefferson Davis	1054	32
Tunica	1025	25
Claiborne	1013	30
Benton	972	25
Kemper	952	26
Humphreys	943	32
Franklin	819	23
Quitman	789	16
Choctaw	728	17
Jefferson	648	28
Wilkinson	647	27
Sharkey	496	17
Issaquena	168	6
Unassigned	0	0

Alabama Coronavirus Cases

Cases: 519071

Reported Deaths: 10712

County	Cases	Deaths
Jefferson	75413	1487
Mobile	37774	798
Madison	33868	494
Tuscaloosa	25283	443
Montgomery	23969	565
Shelby	23112	238
Baldwin	20638	300
Lee	15524	165
Calhoun	14286	311
Morgan	14140	268
Etowah	13664	345
Marshall	11957	219
Houston	10383	278
Elmore	9994	200
Limestone	9814	147
Cullman	9475	188
St. Clair	9429	234
Lauderdale	9218	227
DeKalb	8747	181
Talladega	8060	171
Walker	7092	275
Jackson	6755	110
Autauga	6727	103
Blount	6488	135
Colbert	6205	130
Coffee	5401	112
Dale	4768	110
Russell	4289	38
Franklin	4199	82
Chilton	4083	109
Covington	4053	114
Tallapoosa	3893	146
Escambia	3880	74
Dallas	3527	149
Chambers	3500	122
Clarke	3463	60
Marion	3066	100
Pike	3058	75
Lawrence	2953	95
Winston	2723	72
Bibb	2564	58
Marengo	2486	61
Geneva	2458	75
Pickens	2329	59
Barbour	2249	55
Hale	2187	75
Butler	2123	66
Fayette	2089	60
Henry	1878	44
Cherokee	1820	44
Randolph	1769	41
Monroe	1715	40
Washington	1640	38
Macon	1548	48
Clay	1494	54
Crenshaw	1493	57
Cleburne	1460	41
Lamar	1393	34
Lowndes	1364	53
Wilcox	1243	27
Bullock	1213	40
Conecuh	1090	28
Perry	1079	26
Sumter	1029	32
Coosa	993	28
Greene	907	34
Choctaw	587	24
Out of AL	0	0
Unassigned	0	0

Tupelo

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Starkville

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Bits and pieces of low pressure over the next several days will give us some chances for showers and isolated thunderstorms. Albeit, severe thunderstorms will stay to the south and west of our area.