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Stockton declares local emergency after golden mussel colonization at Delta intake
Summary
City staff reported rapid golden‑mussel colonization at Delta intake structures and Port facilities, prompting a council vote to ratify a local emergency to speed procurement and pursue state/federal funding; immediate cleanup costs were estimated at about $209,000.
City staff told the Stockton City Council on June 23 that invasive golden mussels — a fast‑reproducing nonnative species first detected in regional waterways in 2024 — were found colonizing intake screens and structures at Port and Delta pump stations. The municipal utilities deputy director reported fish‑screen encrustation levels of roughly 30–40% in one intake and explained that, without urgent remediation, the infestation could reduce conveyance capacity to the city’s water treatment facilities.
The department described immediate response steps taken this week: contracting divers and crews to clear screens and wet wells, evaluating treatment options that are safe for drinking water systems, and planning recurring inspections. Staff cited a first‑week emergency cost in the low six figures — about $209,000 — for contracted cleaning and related operations.
Council authorized the city manager’s proclamation of a local emergency and gave the manager authority to use emergency procurement procedures, activate contingency funds and seek state/federal disaster assistance. The declaration is intended to allow expedited contracting, access to emergency funding streams and limited CEQA exemptions for urgent remediation work.
Deputy Director Travis Small said the mussels likely arrived in commercial ballast or on recreational vessels and noted the organism’s high fecundity: a single female can produce large numbers of microscopic larvae that settle on infrastructure and rapidly reduce pipe and screen capacity. Staff emphasized the regional nature of the problem and noted that San Joaquin and Sacramento counties and state committees have also declared or are considering emergency actions to coordinate funding and response.
Council members asked staff to accelerate coordination with the Port of Stockton, county emergency managers and state agencies and to submit the city’s emergency expenses for possible reimbursement. The motion to ratify the manager’s emergency proclamation and empower emergency procurement passed unanimously, 7–0.
Staff will return with ongoing updates, a worksheet documenting emergency expenditures for reimbursement, and proposed longer‑term mitigation options that may include more frequent inspections, alternative anti‑fouling technologies and targeted treatment approaches.
