Lake Oroville is a key reservoir in Northern California, providing water to millions and large agricultural areas. Officials are concerned about the invasive golden mussel, which appeared near the Port of Stockton and has spread throughout the Delta. These mussels can grow quickly and block essential infrastructure, presenting a risk to water delivery systems. The mussels also pose environmental risks, especially since Lake Oroville supplies water to critical ecosystems through small pipelines that could become obstructed by these invasive species.
Golden mussels like to stick to hard surfaces - like those pipes and pumps - and that has state officials concerned. They're going to grow, they're going to settle out, attach onto the walls, and then begin forming those colonies.
The invasive two-inch wide golden mussel showed up near the Port of Stockton last fall. Since then, it's spread south, extending to other waterways in the Delta and some in the San Joaquin Valley.
The reservoir is the second largest in California. It's part of the state's system that delivers water through a network of pipes and pumps to more than two-thirds of residents and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.
The mussels also pose a significant environmental threat. Lake Oroville feeds water into the Feather River Fish Hatchery through small diameter pipelines that could become clogged.
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