San Justo Reservoir has been closed because state officials
found a species they suspect are zebra mussels
– an invasive shellfish that can clog water pumps and pipes and
could potentially wreck havoc on California’s water and power
system, the county’s water district confirmed today.
San Justo Reservoir has been closed because state officials found a species they suspect are zebra mussels – an invasive shellfish that can clog water pumps and pipes and could potentially wreck havoc on California’s water and power system, the county’s water district confirmed today.
On Wednesday, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials contacted the district about samples taken from the reservoir that, on preliminary analysis, are believed to be zebra mussels, San Benito County Water District Manager Lance Johnson said.
The nickel-sized mussel can spread easily through larvae on the hulls of boats and in the cooling systems of motors. Adult mussels also can be carried on the shoes of recreation area users and spread that way.
“This has major implications to it,” Johnson said.
In the Great Lakes and Mississippi drainage, zebra mussels have caused millions of dollars in damage, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
Johnson said the state’s fish and game department on Thursday collected more samples, which have been sent to Sacramento for testing.
San Benito County Supervisors Anthony Botelho, Don Marcus and Reb Monaco all confirmed today they had been notified about the discovery and said they were waiting to hear more.
“I just have my fingers crossed that this zebra mussel came from another area,” Botelho said. “Nobody has said, once it’s there, what you do about it.”
Anything that threatens water from the reservoir could deal a blow to local agriculture, he said.
“I’m very concerned about irrigation water,” Botelho said. “This is really, really bad news – it could be the straw that broke the camel’s back for farmers (who are already facing a water shortage).”
San Benito County, which runs the concession stand at San Justo Reservoir, shut down the recreation area on Friday, County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson said.
The county is just following the fish and game department and water district’s directions, Thompson said, but she added, “It’s concerning, obviously, otherwise we wouldn’t have closed it down.”
Johnson said a conference was scheduled for today with the bureau of reclamation, the department of fish and game, the county’s water district and other government agencies.
“We don’t know yet where they came from, how they got here,” Johnson said.
This developing story will be updated throughout the day online and will be published in Friday’s Free Lance.
