How a tiny sea animal could disrupt farm water systems in Central California
A tiny mollusk, native to China and southeast Asia, made its way to California in 2024. Its potentially disruptive effects to water systems are now in Kern County. The golden mussel threatens to disrupt California’s surface water delivery system, from the Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta all the way to farms in Kern County. This week the Water Association of Kern County is holding its annual Water Summit and that tiny mollusk is becoming a bigger focus at this year’s event. The golden mollusk, by all accounts, is a prodigious progenitor colonizing beneath the water’s surface and anchoring itself to just about anything it can latch on to.
Other invasive species news:
- Los Angeles Magazine: LA County challenges Catalina Island mule deer eradication plan
