HAYDEN - Milfoil is spreading at Hayden's Honeysuckle Beach, but the Kootenai County Noxious Weed Control Department has a plan to stop it.

On Tuesday, the Hayden City Council authorized milfoil treatment at the beach, a popular swimming spot on the southwest shore of Hayden Lake. If the treatment is approved by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, Weed Control will plant large underwater bottom barriers, designed to blanket the milfoil and prevent sunlight from reaching the weeds.

"Hopefully I will receive approval so we can start the project this fall," Kootenai County Weed Superintendent Linda Ely said Friday. "I would say I will know by next week."

Ely said she has asked ISDA to amend the existing Eurasian Watermilfoil Program, which would allow Weed Control to use leftover funds totaling $10,400. The Honeysuckle Beach project would cost about $6,000, Ely said; the remaining funds would likely be spent on milfoil treatment at Camp MiVoden, also on Hayden Lake.

With money provided by the state's program, treatment at Honeysuckle Beach would cost the city of Hayden basically nothing.

"That's fantastic," said Sean Hoisington, Hayden public works director. "The city's very fortunate to have that opportunity."

The underwater barriers - 10 feet by 10 feet, made of landscaping fabric and anchored by sand-filled PVC pipes - will help stop the milfoil from spreading, Ely explained. Milfoil is an aggressive, non-native noxious weed that grows very rapidly, she added. If left unchecked, it can quickly overtake the native plant population.

"If milfoil is broken, even the fragments can set roots and start new plant colonies," Ely said. "It can be moved by boats; it can hang on the propeller. (Noxious weeds) are typically not good for the environment."

Weed Control plans to treat the beach sometime before Memorial Day, 2011, Ely said. Swimmers won't be in the water when the barriers are in place.

"There's no chemicals being applied to the water," Ely said.

Suzanne Canow, Hayden community services director, said the milfoil treatment will benefit the city and its residents.

"(Milfoil) can definitely take over the whole area," she said.