Willow Glen Resident

News

'Eco-friendly' weed removal program slower, more costly

By Eli Segall

Vehicles aren't the only thing local residents have noticed creeping along Almaden Expressway in recent months. Santa Clara County officials say they have been bombarded with complaints about the scraggly weed stalks shooting from the center median, said deputy director of road maintenance Ron Jackson.

"We feel [bad] for the situation," he said, "but we're having a difficult time with the resources we have."

The countywide dip in weed abatement began in May 2002, when the county board of supervisors implemented the integrated pest management ordinance, Jackson said.

One aspect of the ordinance was a ban on pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides, which are sprayed before and after weeds sprout, respectively.

The ordinance changed a quick, cost-efficient method of weed abatement into a sluggish, expensive endeavor by forcing maintenance crews to rely on manual labor and lawn mowers, Jackson said.

"We've got two hands tied behind our backs," he added.

The herbicides were eliminated to prevent air and water pollution and to protect human health, Gwendolyn Mitchell, spokeswoman for the county executive's office, wrote in an e-mail.

"Although transition from a chemical approach to an integrated approach is not easy, its benefits are worth the efforts," wrote Mitchell, who attributed the decline in weed control to unseasonable rain and weather patterns and recent changes in pesticide regulations.

One such change was an October 2006 federal injunction against the use near red-legged frog habitats of 66 pesticides including the main ingredient of post-emergent herbicides, she added. This has greatly affected how the county controls weeds.