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: 512632

Reported Deaths: 10262

County	Cases	Deaths
Harrison	34853	555
DeSoto	33162	432
Hinds	32556	641
Jackson	24830	389
Rankin	22442	402
Lee	16238	242
Madison	14874	283
Jones	14086	247
Forrest	13741	259
Lauderdale	12249	324
Lowndes	11286	193
Lamar	10644	140
Pearl River	9707	244
Lafayette	8827	143
Hancock	7835	132
Washington	7550	169
Oktibbeha	7204	138
Monroe	6989	179
Pontotoc	6970	109
Warren	6849	178
Panola	6746	134
Neshoba	6726	210
Marshall	6653	141
Bolivar	6440	151
Union	6338	97
Pike	5924	156
Alcorn	5862	107
Lincoln	5525	136
George	5101	80
Prentiss	5008	84
Tippah	4902	82
Itawamba	4829	107
Scott	4774	99
Adams	4766	125
Tate	4748	116
Leflore	4723	144
Copiah	4558	95
Yazoo	4555	91
Simpson	4543	117
Wayne	4427	72
Covington	4328	95
Sunflower	4299	106
Marion	4265	112
Coahoma	4227	109
Leake	4137	90
Newton	3955	81
Tishomingo	3817	93
Grenada	3775	109
Stone	3656	66
Jasper	3401	66
Attala	3377	90
Winston	3177	92
Chickasaw	3133	67
Clay	3118	78
Clarke	3011	95
Calhoun	2844	49
Holmes	2712	89
Smith	2689	52
Yalobusha	2437	47
Tallahatchie	2314	53
Greene	2247	49
Walthall	2213	66
Lawrence	2178	40
Perry	2133	56
Amite	2095	57
Webster	2051	48
Noxubee	1886	42
Montgomery	1815	57
Carroll	1744	41
Jefferson Davis	1736	43
Tunica	1632	39
Benton	1526	39
Kemper	1449	41
Choctaw	1365	27
Claiborne	1342	38
Humphreys	1311	39
Franklin	1249	29
Quitman	1075	28
Wilkinson	1059	39
Jefferson	968	34
Sharkey	651	21
Issaquena	195	7
Unassigned	0	0

Alabama Coronavirus Cases

Cases: 844594

Reported Deaths: 16115

County	Cases	Deaths
Jefferson	116061	2006
Mobile	74165	1379
Madison	53255	732
Shelby	38313	368
Baldwin	38061	589
Tuscaloosa	35996	641
Montgomery	34473	781
Lee	25541	263
Calhoun	22582	518
Morgan	22441	406
Etowah	20009	517
Marshall	18771	316
Houston	17723	425
St. Clair	16863	358
Limestone	16123	218
Cullman	16032	303
Elmore	15902	294
Lauderdale	14945	306
Talladega	14186	299
DeKalb	12957	269
Walker	12011	380
Blount	10700	192
Autauga	10512	157
Jackson	10151	194
Coffee	9412	192
Colbert	9325	208
Dale	9013	191
Tallapoosa	7248	201
Russell	7074	65
Chilton	7015	170
Escambia	6951	143
Covington	6926	195
Franklin	6337	108
Chambers	5778	142
Marion	5400	130
Dallas	5283	209
Pike	5114	109
Clarke	4849	86
Lawrence	4826	129
Winston	4777	110
Geneva	4640	136
Bibb	4340	94
Barbour	3691	80
Butler	3433	100
Marengo	3423	93
Monroe	3366	66
Randolph	3340	67
Pickens	3331	88
Fayette	3298	85
Henry	3205	66
Hale	3179	89
Cherokee	3169	63
Crenshaw	2604	77
Washington	2569	52
Cleburne	2543	60
Lamar	2512	53
Clay	2508	69
Macon	2447	64
Conecuh	1927	62
Coosa	1846	47
Lowndes	1781	68
Wilcox	1774	38
Bullock	1525	45
Perry	1418	40
Sumter	1390	41
Greene	1302	45
Choctaw	932	28
Out of AL	0	0
Unassigned	0	0

Tupelo

Clear

30°

Hi: 61° Lo: 29°

Feels Like: 30°

More Weather

Columbus

Clear

29°

Hi: 50° Lo: 30°

Feels Like: 29°

More Weather

Oxford

Clear

28°

Hi: 48° Lo: 28°

Feels Like: 28°

More Weather

Starkville

Clear

Hi: 51° Lo: 29°

Feels Like: °

More Weather

High pressure will continue to dominate our weather forecast for our Saturday. This will keep us filled with plenty of sunshine in our weather forecast for our Saturday.