By admin 
California is facing another costly invasion of a foreign species that is affecting farmers, urban and suburban residents, the state’s ecosystem resources and the environment. Unwanted arrivals like this have happened before, but this time, the effects are likely going to be much worse.
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The invaders are golden mussels, a small two-shelled mollusk about 0.5-1.5 inches in length with a brownish-golden shell from which their common name originates. Golden mussels attach to hard surfaces with glue-like fibers. Although they are small, they reproduce at incredible rates, clogging water supply intake screens, pumps, pipes, canals and other systems serving both cities and farms. They also strip waterways of vital nutrients other aquatic species depend on.
Golden mussels were first detected in the Port of Stockton in October 2024, in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, likely arriving in the contaminated ballast water from a cargo ship. They may have arrived months earlier, based on the size and extent of the infestation and widespread presence of adult mussels around the same time, including in Merced County’s O’Neill Forebay, 70 miles south.
About 3,000 ships visited the Port of Stockton during 2023 and 2024. California regulations require 25% of the ships entering the port to be inspected for contaminated ballast water. That means 750 vessels should have been inspected, but records show the state inspected just 16. More could have been done to prevent this invasion, and California must now do everything possible to avoid letting it happen again.
The agencies that deliver our water did not cause this problem, yet they and the ratepayers they serve are left with a costly bill for managing it, which could lead to higher water rates for customers. That’s why state financial support is necessary to help control the spread.
Water districts, like Arvin-Edison Water Storage District in Kern County, are using a two-phase chemical treatment plan, while the Department of Water Resources is testing hot water mechanical cleaning, and ultraviolet light to fight infestations. It’s expensive, and the state should be assisting affected water agencies with funding to help fight the problem.
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Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Tracy, said the potential damages from the golden mussel invasion could reach $500 million a year. So far, only $20 million has been allocated through Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond approved by voters in November 2024. This money is and that’s aimed at recreational boat inspections to prevent golden mussels from infesting lakes or reservoirs.
Recreational boats must be inspected at about 30 lakes across the state or endure a 30- to 60-day quarantine before they’re allowed in the water. Boaters are also required to pay a new $16 annual fee that helps cover the cost of mussel inspections. The fee is not an inspection pass, and it does not exempt boat owners from additional local lake inspections or fees.
The 2011 Delta Independent Science Board Stressor Report identified invasive species as one of the key stressors impacting the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem. The state must act without delay to help ensure this new threat does not worsen, endangering our water supplies, food production and infrastructure. The need is urgent, and the effort will be expensive.
State officials failed to follow guidelines that were in place in 2023. The state should now step up to help pay for expensive inspection and treatment costs and give better assurances that there will be adequate follow-through in the future.
Michelle Paul is the executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition; a nonprofit organization committed to helping the public understand the connection between water and the food grown in California.
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