The Truth Comes Out

I sent out:
Swiftmud says they have no jurisdiction over hydrilla in our lake. In fact we don’t really have a lake! Anyway ….. The State of Florida only treats on the taxpayers’ budget hydrilla (by Senate mandate) in public waters where there is a boat ramp. Appears our Lake is technically owned by the Port Authority (near as I can tell) and they don’t do much of anything. I’ve been trying to leverage that our lake overflows into the Hills river but nobody seems to care. Sounds like DEP might be the best resource as to how to deal with [hydrilla]. I am told they should be willing to come out and help us develop a plan. You might already have all that? Do you know them and if so, can they do anything to help us with funding or treatment for a portion of the hydrilla?

And then I learned this:
The Lake is owned by the city's Stormwater Department (although they could not find record of when it switched from a residential trust to them). It is part of their stormwater system and is catalogued as a retention pond. The water from the lake does flow into the Hillsborough River but DEP and the State would view it as part of the City of Tampa's stormwater system. I know what their view will be: why treat something we're going to dig up in a year. Perhaps if they thought of it as an experiment for a future run or for other similar lakes? Is there a danger to the fish if we release them without treatment or is it that the effect won't be as good?

(My answer was they should survive even with heavy weeds as long as they get enough oxygen)