Overview
- Golden mussels, native to Asia, can form underwater reefs that spread up to 150 miles per year and already occupy canals serving 30 million residents and vast farmland.
- Biologists have detected invasive mussel larvae in Delta pumps, pipes and canals, escalating the risk of clogging critical water delivery infrastructure.
- Authorities have rolled out mandatory boat inspections, quarantines and decontamination protocols and are using detection dogs to intercept mussels at key entry points.
- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife remains understaffed and the new state budget allocates no funds specifically for mussel eradication, hampering uniform response efforts.
- Major reservoirs, including Shasta Lake, still lack mandatory inspection programs, leaving significant gaps in the state’s defenses against the invasive mussels.