Boating restrictions due to mussels?
Our local water district is finally getting around to addressing
mussels even though they were discovered months ago in a nearby
reservoir (San Justo in No Cal, which was closed almost immediately).
One of the options under consideration is to completely shut down all
boating. I have purchased season passes for my boat for years in this
county and I'm not about to let them shut everything down. We already
went through this with MTBE.Just curious as to what others are seeing. Inspections I can live
with. I keep my boat clean and dry. I might even being willing to pay
a small one time fee for the privilege. Are you guys seeing anything
you would consider both reasonable and worthwhile? There a meeting
Tuesday and it's open to the public. I plan on attending and can use
all the help I can get. Thanks. -mike |
phishrace
May 8
|
| phishrace <phishrace@hotmail.com> writes: |
geoffm
May 10
|
| Turns out this is a done deal. $7.00 per boat inspection with a
banding program for repeat boaters. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/sec/672363882.html http://img443.imageshack.us/my.php?image=boatingwx3.jpg So there will be much rubber stamping done at Tuesday's public
meeting. The cost of the program is expected to be up to $700,000 and
there were 150,000 launch permits issued in the county last year. The
county and the water district were fighting over who would take
financial responsibility. Doesn't sound like too much of a risk to me. I still think I'll attend the meeting and ask how they arrived at the
$7.00 figure. I'll also ask if it is open-ended. I'm sure the plan is
to inspect indefinitely, but if no mussels are found in the lake or
during inspections for a year or more, why continue inspections? I'll
also ask if a one time yearly inspection fee is possible. I have a
annual pass for my boat and tow rig for the county. It would be nice
to have the same for the inspections. I doubt they'll go for this as
the inspections are done by an outside company, but it can't hurt to
ask. -mike |
phishrace
May 11
|
| I don't know the exact details, but the pipeline from San Justo was |
phishrace
May 11
|
| That's just friggin' wonderful. The ramp at Anderson is clogged as it is on
busy days... this oughta make it just a JOY. Thanks for the info. --Mike "phishrace" <phishrace@hotmail.com> wrote in message |
Mike
May 11
|
| Mike,
The problem is that the mussels can live for DAYS out of the water.
The theory on how they got to Lake Mead is that they were attached to
a boat and/or trailer that was previously in the Great Lakes region
and hitched a ride to the SouthWest US. About 4 years ago, a Park Ranger noticed mussels attached to the hull
of a boat that was about to be launched at one of Mead's marinas and
he stopped the launch...The mussels were still viable. The only
problem is that unbeknownst to the Ranger, the mussels had already
established themselves in Mead. The "good" news is that the Zebra is
just a minor inconvenience when compared to its cousin, the Quagga
Mussel...which too, is in Mead. The Quagga reproduces at a greater
rate and is capable of living in much deeper water --
Calling an Illegal Alien an "Undocumented Worker" is like calling a
Crack Dealer an "Unlicensed Pharmacist" |
not
May 12
|
| This:
Calling an Illegal Alien an "Undocumented Worker" is like calling a |
LoogyPicker
May 12
|
| Thats not political thats PATRIOTIC! |
QUAKEnSHAKE
May 12
|
| Loogy, did you fail "Comprehension 101"? That sig is
ANTI-political...Anti-Political Correctness to be exact.
--
Calling an Illegal Alien an "Undocumented Worker" is like calling a
Crack Dealer an "Unlicensed Pharmacist" |
not
May 13
|
| Yeah, sure. |
LoogyPicker
May 13
|
| Political correctness is the belief that you can pick up a turd by the
clean end. Casady |
richardcasady
May 13
|
| I don't know if you saw it yet Mike, but the SCVWD has just banned all
boating in the Santa Clara County resevoirs until they can put an inspection
plan in place. It's supposed to be close to 100 degrees here on Thursday,
and I had planned to play hookie and hang out at Anderson. This sucks. I
don't care what kind of inspections they have, it seems inevitable that the
friggin' mussels will find there way in eventually. They ought to be
spending money to figure out how to get rid of them. --Mike "phishrace" <phishrace@hotmail.com> wrote in message |
Mike
May 13
|
| Yep, I heard. I got on the computer that afternoon to see when the
meeting was. I assumed that since it was on a weekday and open to the
public, it would be held in the early evening. Imagine my surprise to
find that it had already been held and boating of any kind was banned. I ended up sending a nastygram to 'the board' and two PR people from
the county. Got an email back from one of the county folks (who was on
vacation) the next day saying they would refund the $ for my passes.
Three other new county folks were CC'ed in the reply, so they have a
plan in that regard. It wasn't really what I was hoping to hear. Now they are talking about charging more than $7 for an inspection.
Owning a second local only boat would be great (hypothetically it
would only need one inspection per year), but I already pay $71 a
month to store the one I have. This doesn't sound good at all. It's
something that has to be done though. Only one reservoir in No Cal has
been found with only one of the two species. From what I've been
reading, these inspections are very thorough. I hope the mussels
aren't inevitable. And that eventually the inspections are no longer
needed. We will see. -mike |
phishrace
May 15
|
| That is a fond dream The chestnut blight and the Dutch elm got them
all. Casady |
richardcasady
May 16
|
| I think it's inevitable that they'll eventually be everywhere. Inspections
may delay that, but it's a waste of time and money as far as I'm concerned.
Too little too late. Now they need to focus on control or eradication. I
already read someplace else that someone wanted to get a bag of these
mussels and let them loose in the resevoirs... then inspections will no
longer be necessary. I hope he/she was joking, but there is a method to that
madness. The fee doesn't really bother me that much. I too, generally get a yearly
pass for my tow rig and boat. Mine doesn't expire until the end of this
month actually. Another 7 bucks won't kill me. Especially since it'll only
be if I go to another out of county lake between launches. What they should do is eliminate the friggin' $6 fee to make a launch
reservation between Memorial and Labor Day. That's the fee that really
pisses me off, especially if you have already bought the season pass. Most
of my boating is at Anderson. What will really bug me though, is the
additional time for the inpections at premium launch times. THAT, will be a
royal PITA. --Mike |
Mike
May 15
|
| Union Carbide seems to do well at killing things. I bet they'll come
out with Mussel-B-Gone (safe for the kids too!) in no time. Remember,
you read it here first. d;^) I bet Monsanto and others have already got folks working on this.
Water districts would pay huge money to safely rid these things from
their reservoirs. Convincing the public to allow whatever they come up
with to be added to their drinking water is a whole different story
however. We'll see. -mike |
phishrace
May 16
|
| > be if I go to another out of county lake between launches. |
phishrace
May 16
|
| Mike, Where are you located? I'm in San Jose, and most of my boating is in the
Anderson Resevoir. I read exactly what you stated in the Mercury News this
morning. Inspections would be OK in my book, but the launching fee should
cover it. Any additional cost should not be passed on to us. I do realize
that the mussels are a menace, but not to the point of prohibiting boating
on the few lakes we have available to us, here in Santa Clara County. --Mike "phishrace" <phishrace@hotmail.com> wrote in message |
Mike
May 8
|
| The Lower Colorado River also has its problems -
http://www.lvrj.com/news/18796214.html --
Calling an Illegal Alien an "Undocumented Worker" is like calling a
Crack Dealer an "Unlicensed Pharmacist" |
not
May 9
|
| Take your political bullshit somewhere else. |
LoogyPicker
May 9
|
| I can tell you that on our reservoirs in southern NY you are required
to purchase a permit which in turn requires you chain your boat to a
tree along the shore of the reservoir. This way they know that any
boat in the reservoir is clean. I think there is also an inspection
to be done at the time you go to purchase your permit. Most people
who do this are die hard fishermen who keep a small john boat by the
reservoir. |
sgliveson
May 9
|
| I'm also in San Jose. I do most of my boating in Calero. Was there
yesterday and there was a crew filming for the local news. Already they are backing off on the possibility of a complete ban on
boating. Should have seen it coming. They did the same thing a few
years ago with MTBE. Scare the hell out of the public with talk about
a complete ban, then make them jump through hoops to still be able to
go boating. What I find interesting is how late they are to the party this time.
They were on top of MTBE early and rightly took some credit when it
was banned. The mussels were found 4 months ago practically in our
backyard. The did some initial testing and made sure the press was
there to film their scuba divers working, but took no steps to address
boating. Clear Lake, East Bay MUD and others have already started
inspection programs. Also, Anderson and Calero reservoirs are
connected via underground pipeline with San Justo. They all get water
from San Luis reservoir and both Anderson and Calero are 'downstream'
from San Justo. I have no doubt we will end up paying for inspections. Neither the
county, who runs the public access part, or the water district wants
to pay for anything new. I also don't think they'll issue season
passes. Boaters in this area are much more likely to travel long
distances to launch their boat. There aren't any large reservoirs in
the area that offer camping. I was at Lake Berryessa just last
weekend. Thanks for the replies so far guys. Wrote a letter to the editor of
the local fishwrap late yesterday. We'll see if they publish it. -mike |
phishrace
May 9
|
| Interesting. I knew about Anderson and Calero being fed from San Luis, but
even if they're downstream, from San Justo, isn't it still a seperate pipe? I'm with ya about lack of camping around here. We usually get down to San
Antonio a couple of times a year for that. --Mike
I'm also in San Jose. I do most of my boating in Calero. Was there
yesterday and there was a crew filming for the local news. Already they are backing off on the possibility of a complete ban on
boating. Should have seen it coming. They did the same thing a few
years ago with MTBE. Scare the hell out of the public with talk about
a complete ban, then make them jump through hoops to still be able to
go boating. What I find interesting is how late they are to the party this time.
They were on top of MTBE early and rightly took some credit when it
was banned. The mussels were found 4 months ago practically in our
backyard. The did some initial testing and made sure the press was
there to film their scuba divers working, but took no steps to address
boating. Clear Lake, East Bay MUD and others have already started
inspection programs. Also, Anderson and Calero reservoirs are
connected via underground pipeline with San Justo. They all get water
from San Luis reservoir and both Anderson and Calero are 'downstream'
from San Justo. I have no doubt we will end up paying for inspections. Neither the
county, who runs the public access part, or the water district wants
to pay for anything new. I also don't think they'll issue season
passes. Boaters in this area are much more likely to travel long
distances to launch their boat. There aren't any large reservoirs in
the area that offer camping. I was at Lake Berryessa just last
weekend. Thanks for the replies so far guys. Wrote a letter to the editor of
the local fishwrap late yesterday. We'll see if they publish it. -mike |
Mike
May 9
|
| Not sure how it's plumbed, but it is an extension. The big outlet at
Calero was shut off right away and hasn't been used since. Now they
are bringing in water with the smaller pipes below. My guess is those
pipes are connected to Anderson with San Luis cut off just upstream of
the split below Anderson. Also noticed that Coyote creek below
Anderson dam is running much slower than usual. I think they were also
using San Luis water there to restore salmon and steelhead habitat in
the creek. None of the reservoirs, including San Justo, have striped
bass. So we at least know some filtering or screening is done between
San Luis and the other reservoirs. Thankfully the aquifers are full, but I still bet they start using the
'D' word the first time the temperature reads over 90 for a day or
two. > I'm with ya about lack of camping around here. We usually get down to San
> Antonio a couple of times a year for that. Yeah, it sucks close to home. But when you think about it, we can be
camping on the beach in 1/2 an hour, the Delta in 1 hour, or the
Sierras in 2 1/2. It could be a lot worse! -mike |
phishrace
May 9
|
| What political pullshit are you talking about Poogy Licker? Quagga
mussels are now political? I wonder what party? --
Calling an Illegal Alien an "Undocumented Worker" is like calling a
Crack Dealer an "Unlicensed Pharmacist" |
not
May 10
|
