Crews Treating For Poisonous Water Hemlock At White Rock Lake

By Robbie Owens, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

July 23, 2022

Spotted growing along the shoreline at Dallas' White Rock Lake? Poisonous water hemlock.

"The entire plant is toxic," explains Urban Biologist Brett Johnson with Dallas Parks & Recreation. "[It contains an] extremely strong convulsant and people that have ingested it have died from it. We have never had that happen here and if you look at the statistics it's a very minor issue... but because we are in such an actively used park, we wanted to make sure it was taken care of."

Initially spotted by a nature savvy visitor, that guest alerted city staff. Johnson says the plant is too toxic to mow or remove by hand, so trained crews are applying an herbicide approved for use near the water to individual plants.

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