CROSBY COUNTY, TEXAS -- People who depend on the White River Lake, in Crosby County, Texas want water levels to stay where they are but, Salt Cedar trees threaten water levels, so the White River water district is fighting back - with a beetle.
Charlie Morris inspects the Salt Cedar trees near White River Lake, where they are quite the problem. "With the salt cedars roots tapped down into that area where it could theoretically draw from the reservoir, it could and probably does restrict the amount of water that we have available for the member cities"
Healthy adult trees can consume up to 200 gallons of water a day, bad news for a lake more than 15 feet below normal levels. The last attempt to control the trees wasn't the most eco-friendly option. "Salt Cedar spraying, mostly aerial, is done to control large sections of Salt Cedars. The problem with that is it not only takes out the Salt Cedars, but everything in that area, the grasses, the cottonwood trees, anything."
That's where the beetles come in. The beetle does a natural process of defoliating the salt cedar trees which keeps them from drinking as much water as they do. They reproduce quickly, they’re one of the salt cedar's only enemies, and once they're done munching on the problematic tree...they're gone.
