Posted: Sat, 5 Dec 2009 11:53 AM - 12,238 Readers

By: Austin Business Journal

The Lower Colorado River Authority will not lower water levels in Lake Austin to combat an aggressive aquatic weed, due to the draught, it announced Thursday.

Over the past decade, and including January 2008, the lake has been lowered several times to control the aggressive non-native aquatic plant hydrilla, according to the announcement.

Hydrilla is a submersed plant that grows an inch per day to the surface and form dense mats, according to the Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants at the University of Florida. They crowd out native plants and inhibit boating, swimming and fishing.

In the past, a sterile, bottom-feeding fish has shown success in controlling the plant, officials said.

In mid-November, the lake was stocked with 2,200 such fish and an equal amount of them are scheduled to go into the lake later this year.