Outside Boats Temporarily Restricted at Lake Casitas

The Casitas Municipal Water District Board of Directors voted to temporarily restrict outside boats from entering the Lake Casitas Recreation Area on March 4, 2008. This temporary boating access restriction will be limited until such time that more adequate procedures to protect the lake from invasive mussels can be put into place or for a period up to one year. This could include the use of additional equipment for boat inspections, additional training, and more coordination with state and federal agencies.

Boats currently stored or moored at Lake Casitas can continue to use the lake. A waiting list is available for customers wishing to store boats at Lake Casitas and staff is working on developing a proposal to expand the number of spaces to accommodate all customers interested in doing so.

We very much regret any inconvenience this action has caused but please be assured that staff and the Board will continue to work on this issue to find a solution that will preserve our water quality and accommodate our boating customers.

Quagga mussels have quickly spread throughout Southern California since they were first introduced to the area one year ago. Zebra mussels have been discovered in Northern California in the past month. Both of these mussels are invasive species that threaten to clog the state's water-delivery systems and damage freshwater ecosystems. Quagga mussels and their closely related cousin the zebra mussel, already have established themselves in the Great Lakes region. There, they clog water systems and industrial intake pipes, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage annually. They also have eroded native fish and mollusk population