The damming of the Santa Clara River tributary, Piru Creek, in Ventura County created the large Piru Lake downstream of Lake Pyramid. Since then, this recreation area has become a popular spot for fishing, camping, boating and outdoor enthusiasts. The United Water Conservation District maintains this local lake, but recently they have encountered a new problem likely derived from tourism. In December of 2013, The California Department of Fish and Wildlife discovered that this lake is the first southern California body of water that did not receive water from the Colorado River to be infested with quagga mussels. Quagga mussels quickly reproduce and can clog up pipes and water systems, leading to costly repairs. This shocking discovery has alerted other local lakes to beef up boat inspection for this invasive species with increased docking requirements and propositions for clean lake taxes. To minimize this infestation of non-native mussels coming to or leaving the lake, several officials now heavily test local waterways and incoming boat traffic. The origin of this species is proposed to be from recreational boaters.
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