Alien plant American Pennywort is smothering the lower reaches of the Chelmer in Maldon, making it a no-go area for pleasure boats and rowers and a danger to swimmers.
Dudley Courtman, chairman of the Chelmer Canal Trust, says the weed has taken control of a two-mile stretch from Beeleigh to Heybridge Basin despite volunteers having cleared it in 2001.
And he says there is a pending ecological disaster as the weed smothers river life.
''There will not be much boating on the Long Pond - the last two and half miles of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation - in 2003 because it is completely blocked in several places by dense weed,'' he said.
''American Floating Pennywort is thriving everywhere and it appears to be still growing in the winter.
''Pennywort is now choking the Long Pond to such a degree that parts of it are unnavigable and will soon become indistinguishable from the surrounding green fields.
''With no water visible, this stretch of the canal will be a danger to the unwary walker and young children.
Hugh Turner, deputy head of the Chelmer Navigation Company, said: "There is potential for ecological disaster because the weed chokes everything else."The best defence is for volunteers to pull the roots from the bank sides. Anyone who wants to help can contact us and we will put them in touch with the local Inland Waterways Association Branch."
Published Friday, April 11, 2003
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