Title: Gippsland landowners urged to report water hyacinth weed
[ABC News 30 Sept. 2010] -- The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is urging people across Gippsland to check their dams and ponds for a highly invasive water weed. The water hyacinth was found in a pond near Walkerville in South Gippsland recently. The DPI says the water hyacinth spreads quickly and chokes waterways. Pictures of the weed can be seen on the NSW DPI website. Bob Wilson from the DPI Victoria says people across Gippsland should be on the lookout for the weed. "DPI is responsible for the treatment of the weed, so the onus is not on the landowner," he said. "DPI will actually undertake the treatment and remove it in cooperation with the landowner, so we'd certainly encourage people to report the weed through the 136 186 hotline."