Planning to boat on Lake Tahoe this summer?

The invasive zebra and quagga mussels have been found in freshwater lakes and waterways on the East Coast for some time. Last year, when zebra mussels were found in a reservoir less than 250 miles away from Lake Tahoe, TRPA took action.

In response, they have created the Tahoe Resource Conservation District. The organization is responsible for training inspectors and administering inspections. Beginning June 1, all boats entering Lake Tahoe will have mandatory inspections. The fee for the inspection will cost between $10 and $60 depending on the size of the vessel. The fees are designed to help defray the cost of the program, currently estimated at $675,000 annually. If your vessel is inspected and not removed from the boat, you do not have to have another inspection.

Keeping contaminated vessels from entering Lake Tahoe is the most potent form of prevention possible. Inspectors can be found at Ski Beach, Sand Harbor, Cave Rock, and Lake Forest ramps. To clean a contaminated vessel, high pressure water heated above 140 degrees Fahrenheit is working the best. These mussels are tough, even a concentrated solution of bleach does not kill the hardiest of the mollusks (all mussels are in the mollusk family).

You may ask yourself why these little mussels are creating such a stir. The reason is that they originate from the Black Sea and have no natural predators. Once the mussels get in a body of water they begin multiply at a rapid rate. Almost all of the large, freshwater ways and navigable lakes in the US have been contaminated by ocean going ships. Currently, there is no known way to eradicate the mussels once they take hold in an aquatic environment.

Their damage comes in two forms. The main issue is the nuisance caused by the rapid build up of the mollusks in pipes and on hard surfaces. The other problem comes from an unlikely source. The mollusks eat micro nutrients and tend to clear up the water. Having the pleasure of 75 feet of clarity here at Lake Tahoe, one might think that a clearer body of water is better. Unfortunately, when bodies of murky water (think Lake Mead) get cleaned, more light enters the water and plants and other aquatic life grow at an unbalanced level. Once this process starts, a cycle begins and can eventually destroy a water body by changing the alkalinity of the water and killing the inhabitants.

Inspections at Ski Beach are available daily from 7am until 8pm and are free of charge for residents through May 31. If you use a service to launch and or store your boat, they will most likely have someone on staff to address this issue. You can also click here for a guide on cleaning your watercraft.