Texas Parks & Wildlife
Management of hydrilla in Texas reservoirs
TPWD’s overview of how hydrilla is evaluated on public lakes: fisheries balance, controlling authorities, and why reservoir-by-reservoir plans replace a one-size-fits-all kill.
Information links
Hydrilla information & resource links.
Official and research sources for hydrilla identification, Texas permits, and shoreline management — collected for Lake Austin lake-house owners.
Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) is a prohibited exotic species in Texas. Before you cut, treat, or haul plants from a public lake — including Lake Austin — it helps to read the same agency pages your contractor uses. These links are independent .gov and .edu sources. They do not speak for Hydrilla Hunters ATX; we share them so customers can check rules, confirm plant ID, and understand why fragments matter.
For how we work on docks and swim areas, see hydrilla removal methods, Texas permit rules, and Hydrilla Removal Lake Austin.
Texas permits & agencies
Start here if you own waterfront on a public reservoir. Treatment proposals go to TPWD and, on the Highland Lakes, LCRA.
Lower Colorado River Authority
Managing nuisance aquatic plants on the Highland Lakes
LCRA’s page for lakeside owners: treatment proposals, herbicide zone schedules on Inks, LBJ, and Marble Falls, and who to email with TPWD (Austin-area contact listed there).
Texas Parks & Wildlife
Nuisance aquatic plant control methods
How Texas regulates physical, biological, and chemical control on public water — including why hydrilla fragments must leave the lake, and when a grass carp permit is required.
Texas Parks & Wildlife
Prohibited exotic aquatic plants
Official list that includes hydrilla. Importing, possessing, or placing prohibited plants in public water without a permit is unlawful in Texas.
Identify hydrilla
Hydrilla is often confused with native elodea or Brazilian egeria. Whorled leaves and small teeth on the underside of the midrib are the usual tell.
Texas A&M AgriLife · AquaPlant
Hydrilla plant identification
Texas-focused photos and comparison notes. AgriLife also reminds owners that hydrilla is illegal to possess or transport in Texas — report new sightings to TPWD.
U.S. Geological Survey
Hydrilla verticillata species profile
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species fact sheet: biology, U.S. distribution by state, and why hydrilla is a federal noxious weed. Useful if you want the national picture beyond Central Texas.
University of Florida IFAS
Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants directory
The lab that has studied hydrilla longer than almost anyone. Identification, federal listing status, and links into Florida management research that still informs Texas IPM.
Management research
Integrated pest management is the standard: match the tool to the waterbody. Pond herbicide tables do not automatically apply to public Highland Lakes shorelines.
Texas A&M AgriLife · AquaPlant
How to control hydrilla
Manual raking, triploid grass carp stocking rates, and herbicide active ingredients used in Texas ponds. LCRA notes that pond-only options such as dyes do not apply on public waterways.
USDA National Invasive Species Info.
Hydrilla species information center
A hub of federal and university hydrilla pages — PLANTS database, USGS, and extension publications in one place for owners who want primary sources.
University of Florida IFAS
Hydrilla: Florida’s worst submersed weed
Clear biology of tubers, fragments, and surface mats — the same traits that make dock-side cutting on Lake Austin spread the problem if cuttings stay in the water.
Stop the spread
Boats, trailers, and live wells move hydrilla between Central Texas lakes. Clean, drain, and dry after every trip.
Wildlife Forever
Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers
National clean-drain-dry campaign for boaters and anglers. Hydrilla fragments hitchhike on props, anchors, and waterfowl — not only on harvesters.
Hydrilla Hunters ATX provides manual, chemical-free shoreline hydrilla removal for Lake Austin lake houses, with TPWD-aligned methods on public water. These outside links are for education — not a substitute for a site-specific plan.
Need hydrilla removed from a dock or swim area?