Grace Napolitano: “I too am very concerned about the serious threat that the invasive species pose to nonnative waters. As the ranking…”

“I too am very concerned about the serious threat that the invasive species pose to nonnative waters. As the ranking member of the Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee, we have held various hearings on the effects of the invasive quagga mussel, the zebra and quagga mussel in western waterways. I have even traveled to Colorado in order to understand how they are looking at the R&D to be able to see how we can eradicate this invasive species. It was introduced into the West from the ballast water of vessels coming in from the Great Lakes. This mussel is a dime-sized mussel that clogs water infrastructure. The glue is so potent that nothing can take it off. It's in the pumps. It's in the intake valves and the pipelines, costing water agencies hundreds of thousands--if not millions--of dollars to clean out to allow for the water flow. The Metropolitan Water District of southern California spent $25 million on fighting quagga mussels since 2007. The Bureau of Reclamation is having a major problem with the mussels, as they are causing funds to be spent to scrape them off those major pipelines instead of on projects needing those funds. I have seen firsthand the damage the quagga has done to the dams and the water supply plants in southern California.…”