Oh, SHELL NO!
Colorado’s beer and breweries could be impacted by Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS). Keep Colorado’s vibrant beer culture and brewery scene from going flat: Clean, drain and dry your water gear.
Oh, SHELL NO!
Colorado’s beer and breweries could be impacted by Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS). Keep Colorado’s vibrant beer culture and brewery scene from going flat: Clean, drain and dry your water gear.
How Shells Could Impact Beer
1. Water
Coloradans use lakes, reservoirs and rivers for many purposes, including drinking and agriculture.
2. Boats
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 down the flow of water to crops, including barley — the main ingredient in most beer.
4. Beer
Save the stouts, preserve the pilsners, love the lagers: Protect Colorado’s beer and breweries 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 the ecosystems 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 beer 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 cleaning steps can protect the crops that keep Colorado’s vibrant beer culture and brewery scene from going flat.
Questions and Answers
Hops and barley can be affected by the increased cost of irrigation lines getting clogged with invasive species, and the quality (pH, mineral content, etc.) of the water itself can affect the taste of beer.
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)
- Colorado River from 32 Road bridge downstream to the Colorado-Utah border (2025)
- 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. Their populations can grow unnaturally fast, since they’re not a viable food source for many native predators. Zebra and quagga mussels clog up infrastructure, which is costly and time consuming to remove, and they can alter the taste and quality of drinking water. ANS can also affect recreation by clogging boat engines; they can also attach to shorelines and docks, making them hazardous. Invasive plants like Eurasian watermilfoil can also clog up waterways, creating dangerous swimming conditions, and even impact overall fish health.
The best defense is prevention. By cleaning, draining and drying your gear between uses, you can significantly reduce the possibility of an aquatic nuisance species being moved from one waterbody to another.
People are the largest vector for moving aquatic nuisance species. When we recreate in a waterbody, we might have water, mud, plants or even small animals attached to the gear that we used, be it a kayak, waders or even muddy boots. If not cleaned in between each use, we could accidentally be moving invasive species to new waterbodies. People spread ANS most commonly through boats. Boats have lots of places that hold water, including nooks and crannies where small animals like zebra mussels, quagga mussels or New Zealand mudsnails can hide.
In 2018, a group of Spanish scientists documented an irrigation project in the Ebro Valley in northeastern Spain becoming infested with zebra mussels. Two thirds of the entire project was colonized over five years, and half of the area required regular chemical treatment to manage the problem.
Coachella Valley Water District, an irrigation water supplier in Southern California that uses chemical treatment to control quagga mussels, levies a mitigation surcharge of $2.78 per acre-foot (the amount of water it would take to fill up 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 against 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, as it would change 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, New Zealand mudsnail and Eurasian watermilfoil.
Not only do zebra and quagga mussels outcompete and even grow on top of and smother native mollusks, but they also rapidly consume plankton. Plankton is the base of the food chain, and by consuming unnatural amounts of it, mussels can alter an entire habitat.
New Zealand mudsnails have a special adaptation that allows them to pass through the digestive tract of a fish completely unharmed, leaving the fish with no nutrients and starving with a belly full of indigestible snails. 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, with continual attachment, the USGS has found that mussels can increase corrosion rates of steel and concrete.
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 of ANS and how they can help prevent the spread. If your gear is clean, drained and dry 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 role. Boaters should always inspect their own boat and equipment before and after each use — remove any drain plugs, plants and mud. Equipment should be drained and dried to the best of their ability, such as running the bilge or ballast pumps to empty out remaining water. Anchors should be kept mud-free after use.
Anglers should check their live wells and bait wells, and make sure their waders and other gear are clean. They should follow live aquatic bait rules and, if they have extra live bait after fishing, dispose of it properly and not release it into the water.
Clean, Drain, Dry is the 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 on our gear or equipment.
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Clean: Clean your 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 clean your gear by just removing all mud, plants and other foreign material that could be hiding an invasive species.
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Drain: Remove all the water from your gear. This can be done 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.
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Dry: Dry your gear. This could mean allowing the gear or equipment to sit out and dry in the sun, or you can dry it with a towel. As long as the equipment is dry before the next use, this will eliminate the risk of accidentally transporting an invasive species.
While we all play a role, those who recreate in our beautiful waters most often play the biggest role. Boaters should always inspect their own boat and equipment before and after each use — remove any drain plugs, plants and mud. Equipment should be drained and dried to the best of their ability, such as running the bilge or ballast pumps to empty out remaining water. Anchors should be kept mud-free after use.
Anglers should check their live wells and bait wells, and make sure their waders and other gear are clean. They should follow live aquatic bait rules and, if they have extra live bait after fishing, dispose of it properly and not release it into the water.
Campaign Toolkits
Help us spread the word! With your help, we can protect Colorado's lakes, reservoirs and rivers.
Beer Toolkit
Colorado's beer industry could be impacted by Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS).
Beer Toolkit