Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
January 25, 2008
1. Top Items
Tough alien mussels threaten Bay Area waters - San Francisco Chronicle
EBMUD closes reservoirs to stop spread of mussels - Inside Bay Area
Tough alien mussels threaten Bay Area waters
San Francisco Chronicle – 1/25/08
By Peter Fimrite, staff writer
The appearance in
The restrictions, which will begin in February, are the first in what is expected to be a widespread campaign to stop the tiny monster cousins known as the quagga and zebra mussels from ravaging Northern California reservoirs as they have the
Native to Eastern Europe, the mussels are believed to have spread on the hulls of boats and ships and invaded the Great Lakes as well as Lake Mead on the
Bay Area water district managers got a jolt two weeks ago when zebra mussels were discovered in the San Justo Reservoir, a dam near Hollister that serves growers and residents in
"It's a concern for all of us because we are all interlinked," said Charles Hardy, the spokesman for the East Bay Municipal Utility District, which supplies water to 1.2 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. "Most of these waterways connect in one way or another via the creeks or other various connections. If it's not the actual water mixing, it's the people."
The ban would prevent all boats from outside
All other boats will be forced to undergo inspections before entering waterways managed by the utility district, including the
The zebra mussel, which was first detected in the
Industrial intake pipes 3 feet in diameter have been completely clogged and entire water systems ravaged. The invaders are now found in inland parts of
A single mussel can release 40,000 eggs at a time and up to 1 million in a spawning season. The bivalves, which reach 2 inches in length but stick together in huge clumps, consume vast quantities of plankton, starving indigenous species.
They also produce waste and toxins that are harmful to native fish and mollusk populations.
Quagga and zebra mussel colonies might be contributing to a "dead zone" in
The zebra mussel infestation in the
The quagga mussel is just as prolific as its cousin, but can tolerate colder water and greater depths. It was detected in January 2007 in
The discovery by a fisherman of a clump of zebras in
"What we're trying to do is take action before we find the mussel," said Hardy. "These mussels can produce a million larvae eggs. It's like a big hive that gets bigger and bigger and bigger and thicker and thicker. And they stick to anything. From what I know we don't know of any surefire way of getting rid of these things, and that is scary."
The California Department of Fish and Game has conducted 10 training sessions in the past year where hundreds of wardens, biologists, water agency officials and local marine operators were taught how to inspect vessels for quagga and zebra mussels.
About 82,000 boats were inspected last year at seven agricultural check stations in
What boaters can do
The East Bay Municipal Utility District asks boaters to avoid all lakes outside of
-- Inspect all exposed surfaces on boats, trailers and their vehicles.
-- Wash the hull thoroughly after each use.
-- Remove plant and animal material and thoroughly drain and dry live-wells and the outboard unit.
-- Dispose of all bait.
-- Wait five days between launches into different freshwater bodies of water.
Anyone who spots the mussels is asked to call the Department of Fish and Game at (866) 440-9530. For more information, go to the agency's Web site at dfg.ca.gov/invasives/quaggamussel. #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/25/BAFGUL768.DTL
EBMUD closes reservoirs to stop spread of mussels
Inside Bay Area – 1/25/08
By Denis Cuff, staff writer
The East Bay Municipal Utility District will restrict recreational boating in six reservoirs to prevent the spread of two non-native mussels that have caused havoc in waterways in many states, EBMUD officials announced Thursday.
Boats from Southern California and San Benito and Santa Clara counties will be banned from using the six reservoirs — some of them popular recreational lakes.
Also, local boats must pass EBMUD inspections for quagga and zebra mussels before they will be allowed to enter the drinking water lakes.
The new restrictions go into effect Feb. 1 at
"We are trying to prevent the spread of both these mussels because we don't know which one will show up first," EBMUD spokesman Charles Hardy said. "We want to protect our water system and the environment from the severe damage that these mussels can cause."
As yet, EBMUD has found neither mussel in its reservoirs.
Water suppliers around
The quagga was first discovered in
Both types of mussels can attach themselves to boat hulls and surfaces or stow away in pooled water in a vessel to hitchhike rides hundreds of miles.
EBMUD is believed to be the first water district in the Bay Area to impose boating restrictions related to the mussels, but it may not be the last, water industry officials said Thursday.
"We take this situation very seriously," said Susan Siravo, spokeswoman for the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
"We have not enacted boating restrictions so far. We are collecting information and monitoring for the mussels."
The fast-multiplying mussels can clog water pipes and pumps in water distribution systems and water intakes for power plants.
The zebra has caused major environmental disruptions in the
Hardy of EBMUD said his water district has set aside $2 million to spend in the next two years to defend against the mussels — including the cost of extra labor to inspect local boats before allowing them to launch.
The San Pablo Reservoir between
The Contra Costa Water District has not imposed boating restrictions in its Los Vaqueros Reservoir in part because it doesn't allow people to bring in private boats there. Visitors can rent boats kept at the reservoir.
State officials urge that boaters anywhere in
After removing a boat from a waterway, boaters should rinse them off and dry them thoroughly, officials say.
For more information on zebra and quagga mussels, visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/quaggamussel.
State inspectors at border check points have detected mussels on 104 boats being towed into the state, said
For more information on zebra and quagga mussels, visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/quaggamussel. #
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