Yuba Water Announces Watercraft Screening at New Bullards Bar by Yuba Water Agency Jun 17, 2025 Member Submitted News MARYSVILLE – Yuba Water Agency announced today that it will launch a new watercraft screening pilot program later this summer at New Bullards Bar Reservoir in Yuba County. The pilot program aims to prevent the spread of the golden mussel, a highly invasive species found in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta last fall that could pose a significant ecological and economic threat to the Yuba River watershed. “This is a first phase that will allow us to gather real-time information specific to Bullards Bar and learn what approaches will be most effective here,” said Yuba Water Senior Environmental Specialist Jessica Nichols. “Our goal is to implement preventative measures that are practical and protect the reservoir and our water conveyance facilities, while continuing to allow recreational access.” The pilot screenings will take place daily from 6 a.m. to dusk at the Cottage Creek and Dark Day boat launches and are free to all visitors. Screenings will take about five minutes and look for visible signs of mussels, aquatic vegetation, mud, standing water or risk factors such as recent use in infested waterways. Any vessel with visible mussels, unknown mud, aquatic vegetation or other debris or excessive standing water present will not be allowed to launch. To avoid launch denial, boaters should follow these steps before arriving at New Bullards Bar: Clean off aquatic plants, animal material, mud, dirt and other debris from your watercraft, trailer and equipment. Drain the bilge, ballasts, live-wells and other water-containing areas of the vessel. Dry water-containing areas of the watercraft, trailer and equipment, including bilge, interior, hull, live well and other areas where water could collect. Data from each screening will be logged into a regional database. Because this is a pilot screening program, vessels will not be tagged, sealed or banded. While bands from other reservoirs may speed up the screening process, these bands will not allow recreators to bypass the screenings. Houseboats and other oversized vessels must be professionally decontaminated and show proof prior to transport. Additional details about the program, including a launch date, will be shared in the coming weeks on the agency’s website, yubawater.org. Yuba Water is also working with Emerald Cove Marina and the U.S. Forest Service to notify visitors and those with reservations of the upcoming changes. New Bullards Bar Reservoir is one of Yuba Water’s most critical assets and is managed as part of a larger, multi-benefit project to reduce the risk of catastrophic flooding, provide a reliable water supply for Yuba County and generate clean hydropower for California. Protecting the reservoir from invasive species like the golden mussel is essential to maintaining these core functions and ensuring continued public access and recreational opportunities. Additional resources are linked below: Yuba Water Invasive Mussel Prevention Program page Video showing how to properly inspect, clean, drain and dry vessels Yuba Water also approved a $271,681 grant to cover three years of support for the Yuba Watershed Protection and Fire Safe Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building wildfire resilience in Yuba County. The council, formed in 2020, focuses on building watershed and community resilience to wildfire by educating and empowering residents, implementing community-level mitigation projects and supporting the integrity of the area’s natural resources. Yuba Water’s past funding has been critical in supporting the council’s executive director position, which helped secure 12 external grants totaling nearly $3.7 million for work including clearing roadside vegetation, defensible space and home hardening programs and more. Learn more at yubawater.org. ###
