Boating temporarily banned on Santa Clara County

Boating temporarily banned on Santa Clara County reservoirs
By Mercury News
Article Launched: 05/13/2008 01:19:17 PM PDT


The Santa Clara Valley Water District will temporarily ban boating on all its reservoirs, directors decided in a 4-3 vote today.
The ban will run until at least May 23, the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. The agency hopes to develop a plan by then that would allow them to inspect all boats for the quagga mussel, an invasive species infiltrating the state's waterways.
The mussel clings to hard surfaces - such as boats and anchors - allowing it to spread from county to county. Officials believe the mussel first entered to the United States from Russia or the Ukraine in the late 1980s. It arrived in California last year and was recently found in the San Justo Reservoir in San Benito County.
The mussel can clog pipes and jam boat motors.
The mussel has not yet appeared in Santa Clara County, and officials are trying to prevent its arrival. An inspection plan is still being developed, and it's unclear how much the district would charge boaters for such a program. Santa Clara County Executive Pete Kutras has suggested $7 per inspection, but agency officials today warned that it could be higher.