Staff confirmed that golden mussels, first detected in the State Water Project near the Delta in October 2024, have now been found inside Metropolitan's own infrastructure — including the Box Spring Feeder, the connection of the Rio Toad Pipeline (as stated in the meeting), and multiple East Branch locations. While invasive mussels do not affect drinking water safety, they threaten raw water delivery infrastructure (intakes, valves, pipelines, treatment plant equipment) and require control plans before raw water can be released to surface waters. Metropolitan is deploying a mobile chlorination unit for temporary needs and designing permanent chemical control facilities (likely chloramination longer term), but full protection at some locations like Live Oak Reservoir is estimated at 12–18 months out, with permitting alone taking 6–12 months.
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