Invasive golden mussels are driving emergency responses across California’s water districts. They rapidly clog critical infrastructure and block water flow. Local and state agencies are scrambling with multi-million-dollar eradication efforts, chemical dosing, and emergency legislation to save the state’s water systems.
The Big Picture & District Actions.
Water agencies are transitioning from reactive cleaning to proactive management as the golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) population explodes across the state.
- San Joaquin County: The Board of Supervisors declared a local state of emergency, as the delta is considered ground zero for the infestation. The county hopes the declaration unlocks funding and state regulatory waivers.
- Arvin-Edison Water Storage District: Spent ($2.8) million on an initial, highly successful lethal hot-water and manual-scraping eradication. The district has set aside an additional ($2.5) million and plans for ongoing treatments to prevent re-infestation.
- Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District: Implemented low-dose copper chemical treatments on its main canal, costing about ($293,000) for the first cycle.
- Friant Water Authority: Pushing for a united, system-wide approach, conducting frequent top-to-bottom inspections, and heavily researching chemical solutions to prevent mussels from advancing up the watershed.
State Response.
- Emergency Status: The Department of Water Resources (which operates the State Water Project) is actively considering a state of emergency due to the spreading infestation.
- Urgency Legislation: Assembly Bill 2032 has been introduced to fast-track these efforts by lifting requirements for permits so water agencies can treat mussels swiftly.
- Recreational Mandates: State Parks and water districts are pushing public “clean, drain, and dry” campaigns for boats and equipment to stop the mussels from hitching rides to uninfected lakes.
To read the full breakdown of how local collaboratives are responding, visit SJV Water. For information regarding state boating grants to fight the mollusk, review the California Division of Boating and Waterways.
