Weed Harvesting to Continue on Lake Hopatcong

Weed harvesting will continue on Lake Hopatcong through September, according to Lake Hopatcong Commission chairman Russell Felter, and the commission is in talks with the state and the Department of Environmental Protection  to continue maintenance of the lake into the future.

As of Aug. 1, all lake commission employees except administrator Donna Macalle-Holly will become employees of the state park division of the DEP, Felter said.

Felter said that he had a meeting in Trenton last week with Senators Steven Oroho and Anthony Bucco, along with DEP Commissioner Bob Martin and representatives of Gov. Christie’s office.

“It was a good meeting,” Felter said. “It was obvious that the DEP and governor’s office had had discussions before we came into the room. They understand our issues and want to work with us.”

Felter said that three harvesters will continue to work on the lake through September, and then discussions will start with the DEP as to funding for next year.

"We're still working on the details for next year, and that will be discussed in future meetings," Felter said.

Several members of the audience had questions as to what areas the harvesters will concentrate on.

“The harvesters skimmed over several areas because we thought they would have to stop working soon,” Felter said. “Now that we have money, they will be revisiting many areas. I don’t have the entire schedule yet, but many areas of the lake will be harvested more thoroughly.”

Felter thanked several people and groups, including the harvesting operators, the Knee Deep Club and the Lake Hopatcong Alliance, for their help with coming up with funding ideas.

"The harvesters worked under some pretty tough conditions," Felter said. "And everyone was willing to help and had great ideas. All of this was a real team effort."

Another resident asked about removing floating debris from the lake, and whether dumpsters would be provided for residents to deposit trash.

“Due to budget constraints, towns could not provide dumpsters this year, and we found that there wasn’t as much of a need for them this year,” said Macalle-Holly.

Commissioner Kerry Kirk-Pflugh suggested that residents contact New Jersey Clean Communities, as they often have money in programs in place to help with keeping water and shorelines clean.