A two-week underwater search for zebra mussels at Lake Pueblo turned up none of the damaging aquatic creatures, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said today.
“Not finding adult zebra mussels doesn’t mean they are not in Lake Pueblo,” Michael Collins, area manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, said in a statement.
Authorities became concerned when tests turned up microscopic evidence of the worrisome non-native species in the reservoir. State officials will develop a plan to combat the mussels once they determine the extent of the problem, according to the statement.
Zebra mussels gobble up plankton and squeeze out native species, as well as choking industrial pipes and boat motors. Since they showed up in the Great Lakes in 1986, zebra mussels have cost taxpayers an estimated $30 million.
They spread by attaching to boat hulls, engines and trailers.
“We’re very fortunate that we caught this early so that we have an opportunity to minimize the spread though boat inspections,” Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said in a statement.
Officials tested 159 Colorado lakes and reservoirs in 2007 without finding evidence of zebra mussels. Testing will continue at Lake Pueblo and the other lakes and reservoirs this year.
