Tuesday August 18, 2026
KCRA —
A boat covered with invasive golden mussels was intercepted at Mello Marine, a decontamination site in Folsom, before it could enter Folsom Lake on Saturday.
Sally Mello, owner of Mello Marine, said her team has decontaminated about 6,000 boats since last year, but this was the first time they encountered golden mussels.
The boat was brought in for decontamination and tagging, a process required before entering the lake. Mello said the owner of the boat was following all the right steps.
The mussels were first spotted on the underside of the boat during inspection.
“You can see them underneath here. But as you closer examine it, there’s mussels all over the bottom of the boat,” Mello said.
The boat had come from the Delta and was planning to head to Oregon after visiting Folsom Lake, Mello said.
“Imagine, again, if this boat went to Oregon and now just gets put in the Oregon waters and now it’s north of where it is now,” Mello said.