Oh, SHELL NO!
Colorado’s chile crop could be impacted by Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS). Take action when you clean, drain and dry your water gear.
Oh, SHELL NO!
Colorado’s chile crop could be impacted by Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS). Take action when you clean, drain and dry your water gear.
How Shells Could Impact Drinking Water
1. Water
Coloradans use lakes, reservoirs and rivers for many purposes, including drinking and agriculture.
2. Transmission
Boats, paddleboards and other water gear can transmit ANS between bodies of water. ANS can also spread through irrigation systems. Once ANS reach a body of water, they can reproduce rapidly.
3. Clogs
ANS can form dense clogs in irrigation pipes. This slows the flow of water to chile farms.
4. Chiles
Protect the flavors you love by cleaning, draining and drying your water gear.
Knowledge is power!
What is ANS?
Aquatic nuisance species (ANS) are invasive plants and animals that harm habitats in lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams. Invasive species can also include non-native viruses and parasites that cause disease in fish. ANS harm not just Colorado’s native species but its economy, public health, property values and parks.
What can you do to protect our waters from ANS?
How can you be a Pain in the ANS?
Nobody wants Colorado-grown wine to be impacted by ANS. If you recreate on the water, be a Pain in the ANS when you:
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Clean!
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Drain!
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Dry!
ANS can spread between bodies of water on paddleboards, kayaks, rafts, fishing gear, canoes, inner-tubes and other kinds of water gear. These simple steps can help protect the infrastructure that supports Colorado’s chile crop.
Questions and Answers
The following bodies of water have the designation of an “infested” body of water
- Highline Lake at Highline Lake State Park (2022)
- Mack Mesa Lake at Highline Lake State Park (2025)
- West and East Lake at the Wildlife Area Section of James M. Robb-Colorado River State Park (2025)
- The Colorado River, from its confluence with the Eagle River to the Colorado-Utah border. (2025)
- A private body of water in Eagle County (2025)
ANS can cause major ecological, economic and recreational impacts to the state. They disrupt the food chain by outcompeting native species and can alter the water chemistry. Since they’re not a viable food source for many native predators, their populations can grow unnaturally fast. Zebra and quagga mussels clog up infrastructure, which is costly and time consuming to remove. They can also alter the taste and quality of drinking water. ANS can affect recreation by clogging boat engines. They can also attach to shorelines and docks, which can be hazardous. Invasive plants like Eurasian watermilfoil can clog up waterways, creating dangerous swimming conditions, and even impact fish health.
The best defense is prevention. By cleaning, draining and drying your gear between uses, you can significantly reduce the possibility of moving an ANS from one waterbody to another.
People are the primary vector for moving ANS. When we recreate in a waterbody, mud, plants and even small animals may attach to the gear that we use. ANS species can latch onto our kayaks, waders and muddy boots. If not cleaned in between each use, we could accidentally move invasive species to other waterbodies. People spread ANS most commonly through boats. Boats have lots of places that hold water, providing places for small animals like zebra mussels, quagga mussels and New Zealand mudsnails to hide in.
In 2018, a group of Spanish scientists documented that an irrigation project in northeastern Spain became infested with zebra mussels. Two thirds of the entire project was colonized over five years. Half of the area required regular chemical treatment to manage the problem.
Another case involves the Coachella Valley Water District, an irrigation water supplier in southern California that uses chemical treatment to control quagga mussels. This supplier levies a mitigation surcharge of $2.78 per acre-foot (the amount of water it would take to fill one acre with one foot of water). In the past, the charge has been as high as $5.75 per acre-foot. The rate reflects the actual cost of using chemical control to mitigate quagga mussel impacts.
Yes, ANS can alter water quality and water chemistry. ANS infestations can cause a fluctuation in oxygen levels which causes a disruption in pH levels. This could also degrade water quality by changing the taste and smell of potable water.
The ANS program’s main concerns are the zebra, quagga and golden mussels. However, we also monitor the rusty crayfish, the New Zealand mudsnail and Eurasian watermilfoil.
Zebra, quagga and golden mussels outcompete native mussels for food and space; they can even smother other mussels by growing on top of them. Not only that, but they rapidly consume plankton. Plankton is the base of the food chain in these environments. By consuming unnatural amounts of plankton, mussels can alter an entire habitat.
By retreating into their hard shells, New Zealand mudsnails can pass through the digestive tract of a fish unharmed. This leaves fish with no nutrients and a belly full of indigestible snails, potentially causing the fish to starve. Rusty crayfish are voracious eaters and will eat fish eggs and plants.
Maintenance costs for power plants and water treatment facilities could increase after an infestation. Maintenance costs for water treatment facilities have surged in the Great Lakes area due to invasive mussels. In addition to costly maintenance, infestations could deter tourism and recreation, causing an economic decline.
Yes. The U.S. Geological Survey has found that steel and concrete surfaces actually corrode more quickly as more mussels attach to them.
Be a Pain in the ANS! Clean your water gear to limit the spread of invasive species from one waterbody to the next. You can also educate our friends, family and coworkers about the harm that ANS do, and how we can prevent the spread. If you clean, drained and dry your gear in between each use, you can significantly decrease the chances of spreading invasive species.
While we all play a role, those who recreate in our beautiful waters most often play the biggest. Clean, drain and dry your equipment to the best of your ability by doing the following.
- Inspect your boat and equipment before and after each use. Remove any drain plugs that may be holding in water and clean out any plants and mud.
- Run the bilge or ballast pumps to empty out remaining water.
- Clean all mud off of your anchors after each use.
ANS can also spread on fishing gear. Anglers should take the following precautions.
- Check your live wells and bait wells. Make sure your waders and other gear are clean.
- Follow live aquatic bait rules. If you have extra live bait after fishing, dispose of it properly, without releasing it into the water.
“Clean, Drain, Dry”is a simple and easy way to ensure we don’t move around any ANS. Invasive species can be small and hard to see. If we do all three of these actions, we can ensure that no invasive species will get a ‘“free ride”’ to a new waterbody.
- Clean: Clean your water gear and equipment. You can hose down your equipment and wipe it with a towel. Warm or hot water is best; if you only have cold or lukewarm water, you can just remove all mud, plants and other foreign material.
- Drain: Empty all the water out of your gear. You can do this by tipping over your equipment to allow the water to drain out, or removing drain plugs that could be holding water in. Draining will help remove any excess water that could be harboring microscopic or hidden invasive species, such as mussel larvae (known as veligers).
- Dry: Dry your gear. This could mean allowing the gear to sit out and dry in the sun or drying it with a towel. As long as the equipment is dry before the next use, this will eliminate the risk of accidentally transporting invasive species.
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