Struggling with Water Hyacinth — would appreciate advice

I want to be honest: I'm not getting great results with Water Hyacinth and I'm not entirely sure why. overrunning the pond surface in productive warm summers has been a recurring problem despite my attempts to address it. I've been focusing on removing dying foliage in autumn before it rots and reduces water quality based on everything I've read.

natural filtration improving water clarity and quality is there in glimpses, which tells me the plant has potential in my conditions. I have it in a half-barrel water garden for a small patio which might not be ideal. first leaf pads emerging at the water surface in spring showed some improvement. Two stars for now — not the plant's fault, but not a success yet. I'll update if things improve.