Boaters reminded to clean, drain and dry watercrafts after invasive plant found for 1st time in Ontario

As people with boats and other watercrafts get ready to pack them away for the season this fall, experts are reminding them to properly clean, drain and dry their equipment.

It's particularly important after an invasive aquatic plant called Hydrilla verticillata was discovered for the first time in the wild in Ontario.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority said hydrilla was found at the Hillman Marsh Conservation Area in Leamington, Ont., at the end of June.

The authority says the plant can grow up to 2.5 cm per day and to lengths of 7.5 metres, and can choke native species, clog water intake pipes and impact recreational activities like swimming or boating.

Hydrilla is a prohibited invasive species under Ontario's Invasive Species Act.

Rebecca Rooney is an associate professor at the University of Waterloo who does research in wetland ecology and is a world expert on biomonitoring and wetland assessment.

She and her team were in Hillman Marsh this summer when they discovered the hydrilla. 

It's unknown how the plant, believed to have made its way to North America for aquariums, got into the marsh. Rooney says the plant can spread seeds. It also produces tubers, similar to really tiny potatoes, that a new plant can grow from.

"If you're walking through the wetland and you get mud on your boots, you can spread it that way by picking up tubers," she said.

"If you're boating through there and you break up the plant, the little plant fragments can actually grow whole new plants. And so it's really important to not come into contact with hydrilla and that if you do that, you really thoroughly clean, drain and dry your equipment to make sure that we're not accidentally spreading it."

That's a message Rick Layzell, CEO of the Boating Ontario Association, said they've worked to actively promote 

"We have distributed over 100 educational and informative signs that have been installed at launch ramps across the province," he said of telling people about their "clean, drain, dry responsibilities."

He said they also share resources through their website and social media accounts.

"For close to 30 years we have also led and managed the Clean Marine program, offering guidance and best practices to marinas and boat dealers throughout the province."