BOSTON, July 16 (UPI) -- Massachusetts has banned private boats in the Quabbin Reservoir to try to keep the invasive zebra mussel out of the state's largest body of fresh water.
Richard Sullivan, commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said the mussel has not been found in the reservoir, and the boating ban is a precaution, The Boston Globe reported. Zebra mussels have been found in a lake in the Berkshire Mountains west of the Quabbin.
The Quabbin, 65 miles west of Boston, was created in the 1930s. It is Boston's principal water supply and also serves 40 towns around the city and a few others to the west.
"Given the fact that we ware talking about our public drinking water supply, the spread of the mussel could have significant impact to the infrastructure and ecology there,'' Sullivan said. "We're still respecting the right to public access, but just balancing that with the need to protect our drinking water supply.''
Zebra mussels, which can cling to boats and spread, can wipe out native aquatic life, clog intake pipes and pollute drinking water supplies.
Rental boats will still be available at the reservoir. Sullivan said the ban on private boats will remain in force for at least 45 days while the state develops regulations to ensure boats put into the water have been cleaned.
