Mt Morris Lake Management District Web Site
To Request Aquatic Plant Harvesting Services
Call Peggy Thiel - (717) 645-7320.
The harvester is only allowed to clear a 30 foot wide path to the front of your pier. It cannot go beyond your pier and close to the shoreline. You will have to hand-clear the vegetation inside the area of your pier to the shoreline.
Regarding disposal of vegetation:
The harvestor collects vegetation as it cuts in the lake and unloads it at the off-shore converyor-collector spreader site at the Lake B Boat landing. Once the spreader is filled, it is hauled to a farm where the vegetation is disposed by spreading it on the land.
However, any vegetation that you clear from your pier area is your responsibility to remove and dispose of. Because of safety reasons, the harvestor cannot be requested to pick up vegetation piled on your pier that you have removed. You will have to locate your own disposal site for the vegetation that you collect.
Aquatic Plant Harvesting Strategy
The harvesting budget is set to include 40 hours per week for harvesting labor. District labor consists of aquatic plant harvesting, shed repair, buoy maintenance, and machine maintenance and upkeep. Harvesting Operators are paid by an outside temporary employment agency. The District does not hire any employees and is not responsible for administering payroll. This is done by the temporary employment agency that the District pays... allowing us to focus on our management mission more effectively since we are relieved of the payroll respnsibility.
The District owns an Aquarius Harvester, powered by a Hatz Diesel engine with a 7 foot cutter head, propelled by two side paddle wheels. Hydraulics are powered by bio-degradable oil that will dissolve harmlessly if spilled. Two people are employed by the District during the summer harvesting season from June through October: While there is a main Harvester Machine Operator as well as a back-up operator, both persons have duties to be shore laborer and operate the shore conveyor during harvester unloading and to operate a tractor to pull a spreader and spread weeds in the nearby farm filed. Both persons are technically employees of US Tech Force employment agency that pays all wages and workman's comp insurance. All wages come from the budget of the Mt. Morris Lakes Management District. The Primary Harvester Machine Operator has a base stipend per harvesting season, an amount that is approved by the District. The assistant operator-laborer is paid by the hours worked each week.
The harvester has a conveyer of stainless steel that will gather cut weeds and store a load. The load is then moved onto a shore conveyor for loading onto a spreader. The spreader is taken to a nearby farm field where the vegetation is off-loaded and dispersed.