There is a
”
99 percent probability
”
that the San Justo Reservoir off Union Road will be closed for
another year as local water officials await governmental approval
of proposed eradication options for the invasive zebra mussel.
There is a “99 percent probability” that the San Justo Reservoir off Union Road will be closed for another year as local water officials await governmental approval of proposed eradication options for the invasive zebra mussel.
Harry Blohm, a San Benito County Water District consultant and program manager for the eradication and control of the mussel, recently called the continued closure of the popular fishing and boating destination for another year, “the highest probability.” The reservoir has been closed since the fingernail-sized mussels were discovered there in January 2008.
“It still has to be coordinated with all of the agencies involved, but it is most likely a 99 percent probability that it will stay closed,” he said. “But that is not the sole call of the water district.”
Zebra mussels, which originated in Europe, were found in the eastern United States in the 1980s and in the Western U.S. in 2007. The freshwater creatures can be disastrous to water systems because they produce toxins that kill local, native organisms. They also produce so quickly and in such great numbers that they can clog drinking water or agricultural irrigation delivery systems.
A zebra mussel infestation in the Great Lakes region in the 1990s had an estimated $5 billion negative economic impact. California water officials want to stop the mussel’s spread at San Justo Reservoir so it doesn’t migrate to other waterways.
Local water officials locked the gates at San Justo more than a year-and-a-half ago to make sure that boaters or fishermen did not inadvertently transport the mussels to other waterways.
“There is a concern about managing the potential mussel problem in the distribution system,” Blohm said. “Everything we’re doing is to try to protect our users – not recreational users, but water users.”
For the full story see the PInnacle on Friday.
