CA Legislature Working On Quagga, Zebra Mussel Rules - 17 Reservoirs Already Contaminated

[hatrack]

California, where water and recreation often mix, is struggling to devise a plan to defend its lakes and rivers from invasions by tiny quagga and zebra mussels, which threaten to wreak havoc on the environment and water delivery systems.

An East Bay lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require lake and reservoir operators to develop plans to prevent boaters from inadvertently infecting new water bodies in California with nonnative mussels. The invasive mollusks can stow away in boats hauled from one reservoir to another. In a little more than a year, the mussels have infested the Colorado River and 17 reservoirs and aqueducts, mostly in Southern California but one in San Benito County.

Drinking water agencies and others that run private or public recreational lakes would be required to set up consumer education and boating inspection programs, under the bill introduced by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley. "We want to make sure we're doing what we can to prevent the spread of these very destructive non-native mussels," Hancock, said. "It takes only one water management system not doing what it should to infect all our waters. Our water systems in California are highly connected."

Her bill sailed through the Assembly Water Parks and Wildlife Committee last week on an 11-0 vote with two abstentions. Water suppliers have qualms about the cost of implementing inspection programs, a sign of potential friction ahead as lawmakers grapple with how best to combat the new problem.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_8897290?nclick_check=1

[kestrel91316]

1. Uh oh.

[malakai2]

2. Why bother?

They had 20 years to be proactive about this particular issue, and did nothing to address it until after it was too late. Now whatever they do will not prevent range expansion and all the attendant mitigation costs and lost economic opportunities. Turns out ignoring the problem won't make it go away. If we were really serious about preventing the establishment of exotic species and the attendant billions of dollars in control and mitigation, we'd move from the post hoc Lacey Act listings to a clean list, with attendant stiff penalties for possessing or transporting organisms not on the clean list.

[Quantess]

3. I just watched a TV show that highlighted Quagga Mussels in Lake Mead.

Apparently someone from the Great Lakes took their boat to Lake Mead, and that's how the infestation spread. The quaggas had already done millions of dollars of damage to the Great Lakes, including boats, ships, docks, not to mention displacing native species and poisoning seabirds. The Quagga mussels came to the US from Russia on ships.
The quagga mussels seem to enjoy the warm waters even better than the cold waters of Russia.

So far, they haven't reached Oregon, but it's just a matter of time. This is a link about the program I just watched.
http://www.opb.org/programs/invasives/