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STOCKTON-

Community members in the Central Valley are taking matters into their own hands.

An invasive weed has been choking Stockton’s waterfront, and now it’s being taken out of water and onto a boat.

“As soon as we’ve made a dent we’re going to come down here and try to help the city a little bit and the community,” Jeff Wingfield, of the Port of Stockton told FOX40.

Or at least in one part of the port. The hyacinth has become a growing issue. Boaters have said even dangerous, as smaller boats find themselves stuck amid the vegetation. “When it gets to this stage, we’ve got to get in we’ve got to be able to move vessels around the port. Right now, our police boat is kind of locked right now,” Wingfield said.

Aquatic Harvest has been hired to clear the green congestion.

“It just blocks the water. If you look at some of the marinas around here, you can’t even see the water,” Rick Hatton, Owner of Aquatic Harvest told FOX40.

Organizers said they should be done harvesting by mid-December.

“There’s a local area here in Stockton that takes this, they want to compost it and it’s going to be for a community garden,” Hatton explained.

The Department of Parks and Recreation said they run the aquatic weed control program which aims to control the hyacinth but have not found a permanent solution to the growing problem.