On July 3rd and 4th, public officials will be employing mussel-sniffing canines to help limit the spread of the invasive species.
The canines are trained to sniff watercraft and alert handlers of any invasive mussel presence, which helps expedite boat inspections.
Watercraft inspections are routine in San Luis Obispo county, used to monitor vessels in an attempt to prevent zebra and quagga mussels from infesting bodies of water. Officials say mussel populations can present dangers to water treatment facilities, and once they occur, they are difficult and expensive to manage.
Any vessel which has visited a mussel-infested lake in the past 30 days or fails the mussel inspection is forbidden from entering lake Lopez.
