News

Bellevue beaches closed while crews spray noxious weed

BELLEVUE, Wash. — The city of Bellevue is closing three eastside beaches right in the middle of summer while crews try to kill what's considered the most problematic plant in the state

Meydenbauer and Clyde beaches will be closed to swimmers Monday, and Newcastle Beach will be closed Wednesday.

The plant, called milfoil, makes it really tough for swimmers, as their legs can get tangled up in the weeds.

Boat owners hate it because it gets wound up in their propellers or sucked into the intake of jet skis.

The noxious weed grows in shallower areas of Lake Washington, such as Meydenbauer Bay.

The milfoil creates thick curtains of vegetation, which has to be sprayed with herbicide to kill them. Sometimes it also has to be raked out of the water.

The City of Bellevue is working to clear the weed this week, so they're closing down the swimming areas at those three beaches.

The closures are a precaution, since the herbicide they use could be harmful to skin or toxic if someone swallowed too much of it.

The closures will only last 24 hours before the swimming areas will be back open. The parks at the three areas will remain open.