Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 14, 2008
4. Water Quality -
Ban on boating OK'd: Officials act to protect waters from invasive mussel species
Mercury News – 5/14/08
By Julie Sevrens Lyons
Water officials took the unprecedented step Tuesday of banning boating in all
Citing the need to protect the local water supply from invasive shellfish that have hitchhiked to
The ban is expected to be temporary. Water and county officials are exploring a plan to reopen the reservoirs - possibly by Memorial Day weekend. But that idea remains controversial and far from certain: It calls for closing about half of the reservoirs to boaters and starting mandatory watercraft inspections at the rest.
And with an estimated $550,000 price tag to perform inspections to the end of the year, both the water district and county are waffling at paying for them. Officials are considering charging users at least $7 for inspections.
The news, coming at the beginning of a heat wave expected to run through Friday, disappointed some residents.
"It means I'm not going to be able to water ski for the next two weeks," said a glum Jeff Bense, president of the Santa Clara County Water Ski Club. If the prohibition on personal watercraft runs longer, "I'll put my boat up for sale," he said.
The ban came after months of planning and more than two hours of heated debate Tuesday, narrowly winning a 4-3 vote by the Santa Clara Valley Water District's board of directors.
It represents "the first time we've ever had an all-out ban on boating in our county reservoirs," said Tamara Clark-Shear, spokeswoman for
"When temperatures start to rise, we get a lot more people who like to recreate on the water to take a break from the heat," she said. "They won't be able to do that in our reservoirs."
Blame it on the lowly zebra and quagga mussels, two invasive species that can clog reservoir pipelines, valves and pumps.
In the
"It's like cancer. It can really wreak havoc on a water system," said Lisa Killough, director of the
Water officials anticipated the mussels would be a problem they would have to tackle one day.
Quagga mussels have been sighted throughout
County - the first time that species was found west of the
"That really was a wake-up call," said Susan Siravo, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. "The situation became much more urgent."
Recognizing that the mussels can attach rather inconspicuously to boats and then detach when introduced into a new body of water, several water officials said Tuesday they couldn't put recreational boaters ahead of local water users. After all, water consumers could ultimately have to pay to replace pipes and valves clogged with the mussels.
Current plans call for reopening just four of the county's 10 reservoirs to boaters:
But as it is, water officials made no firm promise that they would allow kayaks, canoes or water ski boats on their reservoirs ever again.
"Quite frankly, our No. 1 priority is water supply," said Rosemary Kamei, chairwoman of the water board. "It always has been."#
http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_9253706
No comments:
Post a Comment