Thousands to be spent on smelly seaweed removal

Stonington — The Board of Warden and Burgesses agreed Monday night to spend approximately $8,000 to remove tons of algae-laden seaweed from the end of Ash Street.

In recent weeks some residents have complained about a strong hydrogen sulfide odor coming from the algae that has made them sick and caused them to flee their homes at times.

At Monday night’s board meeting, Jamie Vaudrey, a marine scientist from the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus talked about the algae and how to deal with the problem.

The algae is an aggressive species that has flourished in recent warm winters and made its way to southeastern Connecticut. Last year, the borough also removed seaweed from the end of Ash Street.

Warden Paul Burgess said the board voted to apply for a state Department of Environmental Protection permit to remove the seaweed. He said this could take about four weeks to obtain. At that point the seaweed could be removed and disposed.

He said the money for the work would come from the borough’s contingency account.

Burgess said the board also voted to form a committee that will look long-term solutions. He said that on Lord’s Point the beach areas are raked each day to remove the seaweed so the algae cannot build up.

j.wojtas@theday.com