Thursday May 21, 2026
SJV Water —
Keeping invasive golden mussels out of key San Joaquin Valley reservoirs will mostly be up to conscientious boaters this summer as there is no comprehensive approach to watercraft inspection and decontamination throughout the state.
State and local agencies are encouraging boaters to “clean, drain and dry” boats before moving from one body of water to another. But most lakes in the state, including five key reservoirs on the valley’s east side, don’t have mandatory inspections and cleaning stations.
Given the rapid and concerning spread of the mussels, Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) has secured $5 million in the 2027 Energy and Water Development bill to support boat inspections at Millerton Lake, Pine Flat Reservoir, Lake Kaweah, Success Lake and Lake Isabella. That bill is working its way through the House of Representatives.
But, right now, there aren’t any inspection programs or facilities at those lakes, which are governed in different ways by different entities.
“No, there is no cohesive protocol from lake to lake,” acknowledged Katie Duncan, Senior Water Resources Engineer with Friant Water Authority, which is working closely with Fong on this issue. “The money and the program being proposed is really our effort to try and create a strategy for watercraft inspections and ramp up our prevention protocols.”