CAP’s Fleet Maintenance Department maintains more than 800 pieces of equipment, including two weed harvesting boats.

With summer, aka weed season, imminent, it’s imperative that both of CAP’s weed boats are in top shape. Last year, the older boat (Moody Blues), was refurbished so it was time for CAP’s second weed harvesting boat, the Hydro-Mate AM-2000, to head to the shop.

The crew from Mechanical Maintenance 3 remove the boat from the Mark Wilmer Pumping Plant forebay and transported it to Headquarters in Phoenix. The Fleet Maintenance crew is completing the service on it so it can be back in the water June 24 to start fighting weeds.

It’s a tough fight because these weeds are not average weeds.

Each spring, aquatic vegetation in the Colorado River (Lake Havasu) starts to grow in CAP’s 65-acre intake channel, where water enters the first plant on CAP’s system, Mark Wilmer Pumping Plant. By the mid-July, the weeds begin to reach the end of their growing cycle and start to die, often uprooting or breaking free and floating to the water surface. This dead/detached vegetation clumps together, forming large mats that move around the lake based on wind, weather, and water current. These weed mats have the potential to not only impede the flow of water but also clog critical pumps and other critical infrastructure.

CAP and our weed boats will continue the battle ensure reliable water deliveries.