Mike Johnson

Water hyacinth doubles in size every 8–12 days during Florida summer. Here's what works — and what doesn't — for private lakefront owners.

Native eelgrass is fish habitat. Hydrilla is an invasive that smothers it. Here's how to identify what's in your water before you start treatment.

Florida HOA retention ponds are a line item that gets skipped until it becomes an emergency. Here's a realistic budget benchmark.

If your pond is clear in March and a green-mat disaster by June, the problem isn't the algae — it's the nutrient load.

Cattails are native, useful, and aggressive. Here's how to keep a healthy fringe without losing your shoreline to a 12-foot wall of vegetation.

Florida's aquatic plant rules sit at the intersection of FWC, water management districts, and local code. Here's the practical version.

Lake Monroe straddles Volusia and Seminole counties and carries decades of nutrient load from the upper St. Johns. Here's what to expect on the shoreline.

Florida's growing season never really stops, but vegetation is more vulnerable at certain points. Time the work right and you cut visit count by a third.

Spray is fast and cheap. Mechanical is durable and selective. The right answer depends on the species, the season, and what you need the lake to do.

Most Florida pond fish kills aren't poisoning. They're oxygen crashes — and they're predictable.

Mowed turf to the water's edge is the #1 cause of pond water quality problems. Replacing 6 ft with native shoreline plants fixes more than it looks.

Nine invasive aquatic plants cause the majority of waterway damage across the United States. Here's how to identify each one before treatment.

Water hyacinth doubles in under two weeks. Hydrilla puts on four inches a day. Knowing the actual numbers changes when — and whether — to act.

There are seven proven methods for aquatic weed remediation. Most lake managers know two of them. The right method depends on the species, water body, and goal.

A treatment calendar that works in Florida fails in Minnesota. Here's how aquatic weed seasonality maps to each major US climate region.

Florida lists six aquatic plants as Class I Prohibited under FAC 5B-64. Here's how to identify each in the field, why they're dangerous, and what the regulations actually require.

When an algae bloom collapses a Florida lake, you have 48 hours to prevent a fish kill. Here's the emergency response protocol — and the 12-month recovery program that follows.

Failing Florida lakes don't recover on their own. Here's the proven multi-year framework that restored Lake Apopka, the Harris Chain, and dozens of private water bodies — and how it applies to yours.

Your retention pond looks fine. Then a heavy rain hits, and within 48 hours the water is green, smelly, and contaminated. Here's what's actually flowing in — and what you can do about it.

A failing Florida pond doesn't need replacement — it needs restoration. Here's the complete framework for bringing back the water you originally bought the property for.

Florida aquatic management involves FWC, FDACS, three water management districts, and county codes. Here's the practical compliance map — what you need permits for, what's exempt, and where liability sits.

HOA ponds don't fail because of weeds. They fail because the nutrient cycle spins out of control. Here's how that happens and why traditional spray-and-pray fails.