The county is giving one such unit to the city of Lakeport, and kept another one back in case Clearlake wanted it. Two others were sold to Los Angeles County, officials reported.
City Administrator Dale Neiman had submitted a report to the council urging them against accepting the station, saying the city didn't have the staff to operate it.
Pam Francis, the county's deputy water resources director, told the council that the county – which originally purchased the stations last year – never used the stations through a public-private venture, as it had intended.
“It was felt that there were perhaps other alternatives that could be considered,” she said.
She said the county approved giving Lakeport a unit on Aug. 4, and she was asked to speak with Clearlake's council.
She said the units are self-contained, with hot water and pressure steam cleaning capability, dams to collect wastewater and wastewater tanks. Originally, the county had planned to stop and clean boats at remote locations where no infrastructure was available. Later, it was decided that it would be better to have units closer to town, she said.
“Cleaning boats is very important to this program,” she said, especially when it comes to “suspicious” boats – those that are wet or coming from lakes the county doesn't trust.
Francis said it's a misnomer that they're “decontamination” stations, since if a boat is found with mussels, “It's not going in this lake,” but instead will be quarantined by state Fish and Game.
She said Lake Tahoe has lower-cost cleaning systems at more locations, “So I want to present all these alternatives.”
Francis added, “Quite frankly the county could probably uses these resources for other options.” She suggested the county should sell the stations and use the money to address the algae.
Council member Joyce Overton asked if any boats have been quarantined since the county formed its aquatic mussel group last year. Since the group was formed in April of 2008 no suspect boats have been found, said Francis.
Overton, who was against taking the station, suggested, “Pretty much by the time a boat gets here, it's dry.”
She said she thought it was great Lakeport was taking a unit, but added, “I don't know what we would do with ours.”
Francis said a nearby local business on Olympic Drive, Navarro and Sons, has cleaning capabilities for boats and was willing to take it on for a fee.
Councilman Curt Giambruno said the city didn't have the resources needed to monitor its six boat ramps, which he said the city doesn't have the authority to lock down.
“The county bought these to use them. They backed out. Obviously they saw a lot of drawbacks and said, 'Oops! We made a mistake,'” Giambruno said, adding that they should have sold all of them to Los Angeles County.
“I don't think we can do it,” Giambruno said.
He bristled at suggestions he said he heard at the Board of Supervisors meeting that Clearlake didn't care about the mussel issue. He said he visited Tahoe City to see their prevention efforts and he does care.
Councilman Roy Simons asked how much effort the federal government is putting into a mussel solution. Francis said the Army Corps of Engineers has been working on the mussels since 1988, and is experimenting with a bacteria to kill the mussels.
She added, “Eradication is not gonna be an option,” noting that native species that eat mussels would ruin ecosystem.
“It's very grim if we get the mussel,” she said. “Prevention is a much better approach to the problem.”
Simons asked how many private ramps are located in the county. Francis said there are 653 private ramps.
“It leads one to believe the inevitable will happen, doesn't it?” Simons asked.
“I hope not,” said Francis.
Simons replied, “We should make any effort we can.”
Supervisor Anthony Farrington also addressed the council on the issue. He noted that it sounded like council members already had their minds made up, and while he wasn't going to try to change their minds, he hoped to offer with another perspective.
“It's an evolving program,” Farrington said of the county's efforts to protect local waters. Anyone who says they have all the answers on the subject doesn't, he added.
The mussels are moving westward rapidly, and Farrington said he was going to try to do everything he could to keep them out of Lake County, noting the county was offering the unit to the city for free.
He said money is not currently available from the state or federal governments to fight the pests, nor does he expect it to be any time soon, despite the fact that the state has now given the mussels an “A” rating, which is its most serious rating level.
Farrington said local government needs to work together and build a funding war chest to address the problem.
He said the county's prevention program is “skeletal” right now, with the education and awareness not there. Also lacking is the front line effort to get people checked out when they arrive with their boats. He suggested all boats from suspect areas needed to be decontaminated or else turned away.
With the mussel task force recently dissolved, Overton asked how the program will advance. Farrington said the county will have an invasive species council going forward.
“This battle is going to be ongoing until we're infested,” said Farrington.
Francis, who said decontamination can be very expensive, said she wanted to offer a “reality check,” saying not all suspect boats needed to be decontaminated.
“Obviously, it needs to be balanced with risk,” she said, noting that she hated to be in opposition to Farrington, but that the council needed to be informed of all of its options.
Neiman suggested that the county could simply directly lease the unit to a local business if they found one interested in taking it, and that would cut the city out as the middle man.
Farrington agreed. “I'm just asking you all to put the brakes on for a second” to see if there is a local business that would be interested.
“We're not even doing what we need to be doing as it relates to the stickers,” he added.
Community member Rick Mayo said the presentation cleared up some issues for him. “With this mussel infestation, to do nothing is not an option.”
Overton said the unit would be better off being sold, and the city could get a less bulky one if it wanted or use Lakeport's.
Vice Mayor Judy Thein agreed. “I don't feel that we should take on any liability for that.”
Simon asked if, as soon as the mussels are found, the county and cities can get rid of the machinery. Farrington said no, that if the mussel is found the county will have a fiduciary responsibility to help prevent the mussels' spread to other areas.
The council ended by turning the offer down.
Francis told Lake County News Monday that it's still to be determined at a future supervisors meeting what will happen with the unit the city turned down. “It's unclear if the board is going to choose to keep the second unit as maybe a backup to Lakeport's or to sell it.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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