LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. (KERO) — The golden mussel first made landfall in North America in 2024 and has quickly spread throughout California waterways, with the bulk of sightings in Northern California, according to a dashboard hosted by California Fish and Wildlife. Experts say the species can create serious problems for water systems in a short time.
Art Chianello, the Kern River Watermaster, said the mussel's rapid reproduction makes it a significant threat to local infrastructure.
"The golden mussel population increases very quickly, and because of that, the golden mussel is a very high-maintenance problem. We want to prevent it from getting into water treatment plants, getting into various canals downstream that divert water from the Kern River, and we just basically — we want to keep it out of the Kern River and out of Lake Isabella as well."
Chianello said there are no signs of the golden mussel in waterways like Lake Isabella — and officials want to keep it that way. Boaters bringing vessels in from other lakes are being asked to follow what officials call the golden rule: Clean, Drain, and Dry.
Steve Pinheiro, owner of Galey's Marine Supply, said boaters need to know their own vessel thoroughly.
"It's part of a maintenance process, right, to clean, drain, and dry your boat. You got to go through the boat top to bottom, front and back. Make sure you're pulling drain plugs. That is definitely an issue. Some boats have 2 or 3 drain plugs, and people don't always pull all of them. They pull the one that's easy to get to and end up with some water in the bilge area that's trapped somewhere where they can't see it, like under the engine or back in tight corners."
Pinheiro said the golden mussel presents a unique challenge because it can be extremely small in the early stages of its life cycle, and small crevices on boats can hide water for days or even weeks at a time. He said he would like to see a more proactive approach, including decontamination stations.
"That's something we definitely need to make happen, probably sooner rather than later, because that's the only way to be proactive about this. As much as people can try to clean things properly. If a little bit of water is left in that bag and that bag has a couple of the mussels in it and they spread to another lake, there's no stopping it from there without being proactive."
Making sure a boat is dry and flushed out with fresh water is an important step boaters can take this summer to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
