Utility district bans boats, alcohol at Lake Comanche in San Joaquin Valley

CBS News

6 days ago

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY -- When the weather heats up, many want to grab a drink, get on a boat and spend time with friends and family on the water.
This year, at Lake Camanche, it's a different story.
"We've taken the precaution, a difficult one, to shut down our boat launches for this year as we try to get our arms around this and figure out the best way to prevent its introduction to East Bay MUD's water system," East Bay Municipal Utility District spokesperson Christopher Tritto said.
The reason is because of the recently discovered golden mussel found in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Delta.
While this invasive species hasn't made it into the reservoir, the utility district is taking this ban a step further: no kayaks, no paddleboards, and more.
The only boats allowed are those with a permanent slip or boats that have been in the water before the launches closed.
"It may be impossible and it can be very, very expensive to try to maintain, clean out pipes and pumps and things like that that we need to bring water to one and a half million people here in the East Bay," Tritto explained.
For an area where the lake brings in boatloads of tourists during the summer months, it's negatively impacting local businesses.
"Two hundred people will visit us on the weekend. It's down to now, like 80-85 people in a day," local business owner Muhammad Khan said. "It's affecting our business. We are even having a hard time to pay the bills."
On top of this boat ban is an alcohol ban to keep visitors and residents safe from its influence.
As a convenience store owner who's trying to pay rent, this additional ban is making money even harder to come by.
"We are completely dependent on these four months for business," Khan shared. "But now, even these four months are very slow for us, so we cannot even cover the basic expenses to keep the business running."
While the decision was difficult, the utility district wants to let people know there are still plenty of ways to enjoy yourself at the lake and support local.
"We have shoreline fishing, hiking, camping. There are boats for rent available that are safely in the water. A lot of things for families to come out and enjoy throughout the summer and the year. So we hope that you'll still come out and find other ways to enjoy the water," Tritto said.
EBMUD says the alcohol ban will end on September 30, while the boat ban will be in effect until at least the end of the year.
Until then, the district will reassess once they have more studies done on these mussels.