The ongoing closure of San Justo Reservoir due to a zebra mussel
infestation has prompted county leaders to ask Gov. Jerry Brown to
declare a statewide emergency and ask state and federal agencies to
work toward a
”
uniformly applied strategy of containment, prevention and
eradication.
”
The ongoing closure of San Justo Reservoir due to a zebra mussel infestation has prompted county leaders to ask Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a statewide emergency and ask state and federal agencies to work toward a “uniformly applied strategy of containment, prevention and eradication.”
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a resolution seeking the emergency declaration and also asking the governor to request a similar presidential proclamation.
“I’m an extremely patient person,” Supervisor Anthony Botelho said. “A year ago, I asked the (U.S.) Bureau of Reclamation director to meet at the reservoir. I was assured they were working actively on the problem and that environmental studies were being done,” he said regarding the invasive, non-native species that has forced the closure of the reservoir off Union Road for nearly four years, before going on, “A whole year has gone by, and now other counties are being concerned. We need to send this (request) to everybody from the governor on down.”
The county is asking the state to enact legislation to give local jurisdictions the same enforcement powers as the California Department of Fish and Game to tag and quarantine boats suspected of carrying mussels that clog pipelines and are not part of the local food chain. The resolution also calls for higher DMV registration fees for watercraft, with that money being used solely for the prevention of zebra or quagga mussels in state waterways.
Furthermore, the county encourages collaboration between all jurisdictions and the Department of Fish and Game and also asks the state to add an “aggressive educational component” to its efforts. Other suggested actions include 30-day quarantines on watercraft that have been infested by certain mussels and to establish inspection stations on major north-south roadways within the state.
“This needs to be addressed,” Botelho said. “We need to eradicate the mussels in San Justo and return that to a water body that can be used by the citizens of San Benito County. We have a problem here and we need help.”
The water level has been drawn down at the formerly popular fishing and boating site in recent years to expose and kill some of the mussels, but because water cannot be completely drained from San Justo, not all of the creatures have been killed. Local water officials are hoping to gain approval to add potash (potassium chloride) to the mussels, which is expected to kill them.
Any such action is not expected until the fall of 2012 at the earliest.
