The S.C. Department of Natural Resources plans to release the first shipment of sterile grass carp in Lake Murray at 10 a.m. Monday, March 24 at the public boat ramp on the Irmo side of the Lake Murray Dam. This first shipment of about 5,000 grass carp, each at least 12 inches, will be the first of several releases at locations around the lake where hydrilla growth has been greatest.

The stocking of the plant-eating fish in Lake Murray is in response to the rapid spread of the aquatic weed hydrilla. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in conjunction with the S.C. Aquatic Plant Management Council developed a management plan that calls for the release of 64,500 sterile grass carp in the lake this spring. A key element of the plan is to achieve measurable control during the two-year period the lake is drawn down for construction of the back-up dam.

        The total cost of the project is expected to be about $365,000. No state funds will be used for this project. South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. will provide most of the funding with additional contributions by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lexington County and Richland County.

        Hydrilla is a foreign aquatic weed that has been in the lake since 1993. Treatments with aquatic herbicides and periodic drawdowns have kept it under control. But its rapid spread last year to over 6,700 acres combined with the decision to halt the use of aquatic herbicides prompted the use of grass carp. Hydrilla's thick growth impairs public access and use of this popular midlands lake, and threatens its use as an important water supply for local residents and the Columbia metropolitan area.

        For more information about the stocking or aquatic plant management plans for Lake Murray contact Steve de Kozlowski, chief of the DNR Environmental Conservation Section at (803) 734-9114 in Columbia or by e-mail at koz@water.dnr.state.sc.us.