PHOENIX - Invasive quagga mussels have been discovered near the Granite Reef Diversion Dam in the Central Arizona Project (CAP) delivery canal that supplies water to Salt River Project's (SRP) canal system.

SRP employees recently found 11 quagga mussels on concrete blocks placed in the CAP-SRP Interconnect channel that delivers water from the CAP canal into the SRP water-delivery system. The blocks were placed in the concrete-lined channel by SRP as a reliable and quick way to monitor for settlement of microscopic veligers (fertilized eggs).

Adult quagga mussels have not been found in the SRP canals, but those canals are being carefully monitored. Water in portions of the SRP canals will be drawn down this fall and winter as a part of routine maintenance, which will give SRP an opportunity to examine the canal and underwater structures to look for evidence of adult mussels. The SRP dry-ups are scheduled for Nov. 21-Dec. 21 for canals south of the Salt River and Jan. 9-Feb. 8 for canals north of the Salt River.   

"It's not a surprise, just an indication of the downstream movement that we suspected would happen," said Larry Riley, a biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, adding that quagga mussels do not pose a known health threat to humans.

Quagga mussels were first detected in Lake Mead on the Colorado River in January of 2007, followed almost immediately with detections in Lake Havasu and Lake Mohave.  Officials had detected veligers (the juvenile, free floating stage of the mussel) in the Central Arizona Project Aqueduct during the spring and summer of 2007. An adult mussel was discovered in the aqueduct in late August of 2007, and adult quagga mussels were confirmed at Lake Pleasant in December 2007.

"All these quagga discoveries were unwanted but expected," said Riley, "because CAP water is drawn from Lake Havasu on the Colorado River and stored in Lake Pleasant."
 
Riley said a single quagga mussel can produce 30,000 to 40,000 fertilized eggs in a single breeding cycle. One adult female quagga can release up to 1 million eggs each year, and evidence suggests that in the warm and sunny Southwest climate a baby quagga mussel can grow to adulthood in a single year - maybe even in a single season.

While quagga mussels do not pose a human health risk, they have cost utility operators and lake managers millions of dollars in other parts of the country, particularly in the Great Lakes region. These mussels can settle in massive colonies that block water intakes and affect municipal water supply, agricultural irrigation and power plant operation. Congressional researchers estimated that mussels cost the power industry $3.1 billion in the 1993-1999 period, with their impact on industries, businesses and communities costing more than $5 billion.

The primary method of overland dispersal of these mussels is through human-related activities. Given their ability to attach to hard surfaces and survive out of water, many infestations have occurred by adult mussels hitching rides on watercraft. The microscopic larvae also can be transported in bilges, ballast water, live wells, or any other equipment that holds water.

"We're all concerned about the effects that they could have here on our water-delivery systems and on our aquatic wildlife resources. We're working together to figure out how to control these unwanted invaders and minimize the damage that they may cause or the costs that they will generate," Riley said.

Riley added that all water recreationists, marinas, and commercial watercraft transportation companies have a crucial role to play in reducing opportunities for quagga mussels to hop-scotch to other lakes and waterways.

Game and Fish Department officials are asking all boaters and anglers throughout the state to help fight the continuing spread of these and other invaders by routinely taking simple precautionary steps each time they visit a waterway anywhere in the state.

Before leaving a lake or other waterway, always:

CLEAN the hull of your boat; remove all plant and animal material.
DRAIN the water from the boat, live well and the lower unit.
DRY the boat, fishing gear, and equipment thoroughly.
Day users are encouraged to wait five days before launching a boat someplace else. This five-day-waiting period will aid in killing hidden hitchhikers on boats. Also, wash the hull of boats with high-pressure water, either at the lake or after leaving the waterway.

Self-help car washes that have high-pressure soapy water can be used to thoroughly wash a boat and keep it looking like new.  Or, wash the boat at home with hot soapy water.  Ensure the boat dries completely. Bleach solutions or household vinegar can be used to clean bilge spaces, live wells, anchor wells, rope lockers and areas where water does not completely drain from.

These invaders will attach themselves to boats and can cause damage to boat motors if they block the flow of cooling water through the engine.

For more information, click here or visit www.100thmeridian.org.

http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/zebra_mussels.shtml

Arizona Department of Public Safety Announces Results of Operation "Picture Perfect"

On April 9, 2008, local law enforcement officers who make up the multi-agency "M.A.G.N.E.T." team executed 18 arrest warrants and 18 search warrants in an effort to dismantle a large methamphetamine drug trafficking organization in Northwest Arizona.

M.A.G.N.E.T. (Mohave Area General Narcotics Enforcement Team) is comprised of officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Kingman Police Department, Mohave County Sheriff's Office, Bullhead City Police Department, Lake Havasu City Police Department, and the Mohave County Attorney's Office.

In early 2007, an investigation was launched into a methamphetamine drug trafficking organization in Mohave County.  Eventually the State Gang Task Force (G.I.I.T.E.M.) and the D.E.A. were also brought in to assist M.A.G.N.E.T. in the investigation and surveillance in this case.  Additional support was supplied by the DPS Financial Investigation Resource Group (F.I.R.G.) which consists of personnel from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Phoenix Police Department and the State Attorney General's Office.

The arrests and warrants taking place on April 9 were served on the 18 upper level suspects in this organization.  An additional 200 arrests and indictments are pending. 

The investigation showed the organization was based out of a Kingman home belonging to Jose Juan Ochoa and his wife, Deaney Ochoa.  It appeared to be a "top down" organization that supplied approximately 520 pounds of methamphetamine to the Kingman area per year.  It also was a lucrative business.  Customers purchasing methamphetamine from this group were spending more than $18 million per year for this product.

"This is yet another example of the cooperative effort that exists in law enforcement in all parts of the state.  Let me commend all of the agencies in Mohave County for their excellent work in shutting down this very dangerous drug organization and thereby making communities safer as a result," said Roger Vanderpool, Director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.