![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/mussels-1.jpg\")
article <\/p>\n article <\/p>\n
Golden Mussel shells collected in October 2024 at a water quality station at Rough and Ready Island near Stockton in San Joaquin County, California. (Photo courtesy Elizabeth Wells, Ph. D. (DWR) via California Department of Fish and Wildlife) <\/p>\n
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, Calif. – San Joaquin County supervisors took unanimous action Tuesday to address a “local emergency” caused by the rapid proliferation of golden mussels in the Delta.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What we know:<\/p>\n
The invasive bivalves, first detected in North America just two years ago, are now disrupting water conveyance, farming, and natural ecosystems, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n
The golden mussel is a tenacious species from Asia that survives in both fresh and brackish water.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A single female can produce over 1 million offspring annually, leading to exponential growth that clogs pipelines and restricts water flow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Officials confirmed that a $100 million floodgate completed in 2024 is already infested, requiring expensive removal efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SUGGESTED: California officials warn of increase in tiny black flies known for painful bites<\/a><\/p>\n The emergency declaration, which will be reviewed every 60 days, aims to strengthen state partnerships and protect freshwater systems, public infrastructure, and local farms.<\/p>\n Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom is currently pushing a proposal to allocate $1.5 million for each of five new decontamination stations.<\/p>\n What’s next:<\/p>\n The county will work with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement targeted mitigation strategies.\u00a0<\/p>\n A key focus will be Assemblymember Ransom\u2019s bill, which seeks to streamline the permitting process to allow water agencies to conduct faster inspections.\u00a0<\/p>\n SUGGESTED: These are the top rattlesnake hot spots in Southern California: LIST<\/a><\/p>\n Mandates remain in effect at Northern California lakes, including Lake Tahoe, requiring strict inspection and quarantine protocols for all watercraft to prevent further inland spread.<\/p>\n The Source: This report is based on information from the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wild Nature<\/a>California<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"article Golden Mussel shells collected in October 2024 at a water quality station at Rough and Ready Island…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[4647,192,3,79,25,5138],"class_list":["post-619186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-environment","tag-news","tag-science","tag-us","tag-wild-nature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}