It's that time of year again where the sun shines a little more, the temperatures rise, the lake water gets clearer, and the aquatic vegetation returns to the lake and surrounding shoreline. Unfortunately as we all know, the vegetation is both the good natives along with the bad noxious and invasive. The Lake Gaston Association (LGA) is working with the Lake Gaston Weed Control Council (LGWCC) and other stakeholders to renew aquatic vegetation management efforts on LKG for 2025. This means continuing the work to manage lyngbya, a blue-green algae, and hydrilla, an invasive weed in the lake. 

Hydrilla is shown in the left photo and lyngbya is shown in the right photo:

North Carolina State University (NCSU) has compiled and assessed the 2024 LGA Aquatic Vegetation Survey data and presented the information to the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) in early February. The 2024 survey results estimate approximately 300 acres of hydrilla and approximately 1,100 acres of lyngbya in the lake. Both of these numbers are a reduction in acreage from the 2023 survey. The TAG has developed recommendations for treatment acreage that the LGWCC will use to make a decision on the final treatment plans and maps. The public is invited to attend the LGWCC meeting, currently scheduled for March 11, 2025 at 2PM in the LKG Lions Club facility. The intent is for treatments to begin in April 2025. While the LGWCC will be treating some of the problem areas, it cannot cover all the locations where the noxious algae and invasive vegetation has been identified. Available funding is one of the primary constraints that limits the acreage treated. 

For those areas where the LGWCC does not perform treatments, LKG homeowner associations (HOAs) and property owners may need to conduct “private” treatments performed by licensed applicators. There are several applicators operating on LKG - see the LGWCC website at https://lgwcc.org/weedcontrol.html#privatetreatment for additional information. It’s important that all HOAs where lyngbya and hydrilla are known to be present along the community’s shoreline, be prepared to take action if necessary for impacted locations that fall outside the LGWCC treatment areas. While individual property owners can also have “private” treatments performed by licensed applicators, it’s typically more effective and efficient to treat multiple properties where the lyngbya or hydrilla is present. Impacted property owners should discuss potential options with their respective HOA.

Lake Gaston HOAs and property owners should monitor the LGWCC website at https://lgwcc.org and the LGA website at https://www.lgancva.com to stay abreast of the latest information as it becomes available. The LGA also invites the public to attend the LGA membership meeting, scheduled for April 2, 2025 at 6PM, at Below Deck @ WatersView Restaurant. Jessica Baumann, the NCSU Lake Manager, will present information on the 2024 survey results and the 2025 treatment plan and maps. For questions related to this topic, please contact the LGA at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. @