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 Monday.
Still, “not finding adult zebra mussels doesn’t mean they are not in Lake Pueblo,” Michael Collins, area manager for the agency, said in a statement.
Authorities became concerned when tests turned up microscopic evidence of the non-native species in the reservoir. Zebra mussels gobble up plankton and squeeze out native species, as well as choke 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.
State officials will develop a plan to combat the mussels once they determine the extent of the problem, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
