Jul 16, 2009 5:55 pm US/Eastern
Zebra Mussel Concern Closes Quabbin To Boats
BELCHERTOWN (WBZ) ―
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Zebra mussel
Invasive.org
State environmental officials increased water chemistry testing today at the Quabbin Reservoir after closing it to private boating for 45 days.
The precautionary move was made because an invasion of zebra mussels was confirmed last week at Laurel Lake in the Berkshires; and the highly invasive mussels can hitch rides on boats.
"We're always going to err on the side of public safety, particularly when it comes to public water supply so this is absolutely just a precautionary move," says Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Richard Sullivan, adding this is not a water quality issue.
The water chemistry testing is done to determine whether zebra mussels, or other invasive species, could survive in the reservoir.
Zebra mussels have not been found in the Quabbin which supplies drinking water to 2.5 million people in 50 cities and towns, most of them in metropolitan Boston.
But the mussels can clog water intake pipes and valves as they have in the Great Lakes where millions are spent each year to prevent their buildup.
And they can wreak havoc with wildlife. Tom Ryan of Chicopee fishes at the Quabbin.
"As it goes, I'm very worried. Very worried. Because once, like I say, they get established, it's pretty difficult to get rid of them," says Ryan.
There is a glimmer of good news.
State officials say water in the Quabbin is low in calcium and acidic which is not conducive to zebra mussels because they need calcium to form their shells.
Kathy Martell owns "Gate 8 Boat and Bait" next to the Quabbin. While you can still rent boats to fish at the reservoir, Martell hopes the private boating ban is brief.
"It's going to take away 50% of our business if not more, a good half of it because the private boats are the ones that can come down on a regular basis and they're the ones that come down and buy the regular amount of bait," she says.
The D.C.R. Commissioner says he's confident the ban will last only 45 days.
Zebra mussels, which have been found in Russia and other parts of Europe, are believed to have hitched a ride to the Great Lakes on an ocean-going freighter that came through the St. Lawrence Seaway in the late 1980's.
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