San Diego officials brainstorm ways to combat invasive mussels

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

To kill a quagga, you’ve got to think like one. So says Gary Eaton, head of the San Diego County Water Authority, which hosted a meeting of local water officials yesterday. The subject of discussion was how best to address the recent quagga mussel invasion of San Diego lakes.

Officials are analyzing where the county’s water systems are most vulnerable “and then saying, ‘If I’m a quagga, where would I be,’ ” Eaton said. Then, he said, go to those places and kill the tiny, invasive creatures. How? All sorts of ways, Eaton said.

In some cases, reservoir levels could be lowered to expose the tiny mussels to the air, thereby drying and killing them. They also could be physically pulled off things such as piers and cables. Even dredging the bottom of the lakes is possible, although that creates its own problems.

Quagga mussels multiply very quickly, and can clog pumps, pipes and intakes, creating the need for costly repairs and maintenance. They can also alter ecosystems by eating up other species food. They are spread oftentimes unwittingly by boat owners from one lake to another.

For the full text of the story from the San Diego Union-Tribune, click here.

Quagga mussels are spread most often by boaters from one body of water to another. Need to know what you can do to combat the spread of the invasive Quagga mussel? Click here to read the previous post, Department of Fish & Game asks boaters help in controlling invasive mussels. You can also visit the 100th Meridian Initiative website, which is dedicated to prevention of aquatic invasive species, including the Quagga mussel, and offers more advice and a free, online training course to teach you what you need to know to help combat this problem.

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