The decision by the Humboldt Water Company to close popular Ruth Lake to all out-of-area boaters took everyone by surprise. Ruth Lake supplies water to Eureka and other areas in Humboldt County. The water company owns the lake.
Authorities decided to close the lake to prevent the possibility of a boat bringing the quagga mussel to the lake. If that happened and the mussels became established in the lake, the results could be devastating. The water pumps could plug up and much of Humboldt County would be without fresh water.
The threat of the mussels getting into the lakes of Northern California is very real. It was only last week when a 32-foot boat about to launch in Lake Tahoe was discovered to be infested with quagga mussels. The mussels were discovered by the harbor master at a local marina. The irony is that the boat had been decontaminated after leaving Lake Mead. Quagga mussels are well established in Lake Mead and the Colorado River. Lake Tahoe draws a lot of boaters from Nevada and Southern California and now requires all boats be inspected before they can be launched into the lake.
The closing of Ruth Lake could be just the tip of the iceberg as local authorities around many of the lakes in Northern California take precautions to prevent quagga mussels from getting into their lakes. The big question is if other small lakes in Northern California could be closed down? For example, just down the road from Clear Lake is Lake Hennessey in Napa County. That lake supplies water to the city of Napa. You can bet there is concern about Lake Hennessey getting the mussel.
The federal government owns Lake Berryessa, which supplies drinking water as well as irrigation water to Vacaville, Suisun City, Vallejo and Fairfield. Both of these lakes could have restrictions placed on the use of them. Even nearby Lake Mendocino could see restrictions in the future.
For lakes that supply drinking water and also provide recreation such as fishing and boating, the recreational activities will get very low priority when judged against getting rid of the mussel.
The good news is that the quagga mussel hasn”t yet been established north of the Southern California lakes. However, they are increasing dramatically in the Colorado River and Lake Mead. There was a zebra mussel (a close cousin of quagga mussel) found in a lake in Santa Clara County earlier this year. The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) determined the zebra mussel got into the lake on bait fish minnows and not as a result of boating.
There have been restrictions placed on boaters in several areas throughout Northern California. For example, Santa Clara County boaters are required to have their boats physically inspected before they can be launched and no boats from Southern California are allowed.
All the launch ramps at Ruth Lake, with the exception of the Ruth Lake Marina, have been closed. Locally registered boats are allowed to launch at the marina but they must be inspected.
Lake County requires all boaters to complete a questionnaire and be issued a sticker before boats can be launched in any waters in the county. However, there is no program currently in place to re-inspect boats that leave the county and then return. Plans are in the works for that just as they are for establishing decontamination stations for infested boats.
The problem at Clear Lake is that there are more than 600 public and private boat ramps, which makes a foolproof plan of inspecting all boats nearly impossible.
Whereas many people think the quagga mussel is already in the lake, I don”t think so. If it was here it should have shown up. The mussel sticks to dock pilings and other hard surfaces and the county has been constantly inspecting the lake for the mussel and hasn”t yet found one. My biggest fear is that it will show up in a neighboring lake. If it does, then all bets are off and we can expect it in Clear Lake.
It is also highly unlikely that Clear Lake will ever be closed to boating. However, boaters can expect restrictions in the future. Inspections will be a daily fact of life and a few boaters can even expect to have their boats quarantined for a few days. There also will be a fee that boaters can expect to pay. Unlike most lakes, there has never been a launching fee on most of the public ramps at Clear Lake, but a quagga mussel inspection fee is now law.
