Seaweed clean-up transforms Summerside beach, says mayor

Summerside, P.E.I., residents and visitors can enjoy a west end beach again because of the success of a seaweed removal program started severalyears ago, according to the city's mayor Bill Martin.

"It's a source of pride for me, personally, not only as the mayor but also as a resident of the city," said Martin told Mainstreet, P.E.I.

Rotting seaweed

Martin explained that a typical strollon the beach years ago "tended to be more of a run than a walk" because of the look and smell of rotting seaweed.

"If the seaweed builds up on the beach and then rots down into the sand itself, that's where the odour comes from," he said.

Area transformation

Martin said the area has been transformed by the seaweed removal project with families using the water again and an apartment building being built nearby.

For more than a decade, the city has been using backhoes and trucks to remove the seaweed. 35 tonnes was removed in 2013.

Martin said the city is looking at ways to find other purposes for theremoved seaweed.

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