[env-trinity] Ruth Lake restricted to local boats

[Tom Stokely]

            http://www.times-standard.com/ci_10222722?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com
            Ruth Lake restricted to local boats
            John Driscoll/The Times-Standard
            Article Launched: 08/16/2008 01:21:21 AM PDT



            Water and wildlife officials are temporarily restricting boats that can use Ruth Lake to those from Humboldt and Trinity counties in an effort to prevent infestation of the regional water supply system by invasive mussels. 

            The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, the Ruth Lake Community Services District and the California Department of Fish and Game are taking the measure to keep zebra and Quagga mussels from becoming a scourge like they are in other parts of the state. Boats registered in Humboldt and Trinity counties will be allowed to use the lake, with the exception of those that have recently been in infested waters. 

            Ruth Lake is created by Matthews Dam on the Mad River, which is where some 80,000 people in Humboldt County get their drinking water through the water district. 

            Nineteen reservoirs in California and others in the United States are already rife with the freshwater mussels. The mussels spread by water releases or by attaching themselves to boats or trailers -- larval mussels can live in bilges, live wells and engines. It can be impossible to rid a waterway of them once they take hold. 

            ”At this time, there are no plans to close the lake,” water district General Manager Carol Rische said in a news release, “but work is under way with the Ruth Lake Community Services District to develop a prevention plan.” 

            That will include closing unstaffed boat launches, initiating boater registration and 


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            developing an inspection process. 
            The invasive mussels multiply quickly, with each adult capable of releasing a million eggs in a season. The mussels can clog pipes and infrastructure and coat piers. The mussels can consume so much organic material in a lake that the water becomes overly clear, the release said, stimulating weeds and algae that can cause taste and odor problems in drinking water. 

            ”Quagga and zebra mussels pose a serious threat to all of California's waters,” said Fish and Game director Don Koch. “DFG is committed to providing local agencies like Humboldt County with the information they need to protect local waters from these invasive species.” 

            Boaters are asked to: 

            * inspect exposed surfaces of boats; 

            * wash the hull of water craft thoroughly; 

            * remove plants and animal material; 

            * drain all water and dry all areas; 

            * drain and dry lower outboard units; 

            * clean and dry live wells; 

            * empty and dry buckets; 

            * dispose off all bait in the trash; and 

            * wait five days and keep watercraft dry between launches into different fresh water.



           
     
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