Early Start For Delta Water Weed Treatment

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Officials are getting a jump on clearing thick masses of invasive plants that clog marinas and frustrate boaters along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The Contra Costa Times reports the state's Department of Boating and Waterways will begin treatment as early as this month to remove water hyacinth. In past years the treatment season for hyacinth didn't begin until July.

Spokeswoman Gloria Sandoval tells the newspaper that herbicide can be applied once the agency receives biological clearance from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service that it won't endanger fish species.

Sandoval says the state is seeking five-year permits to treat water hyacinth and Egeria Densa, the two main Delta invasive plants, rather than the one-year permits issued in years past.