If you are planning on spending Memorial Day weekend on Lake Arlington, our advice is to have fun, wear your life vest, and don't move a mussel. A zebra mussel that is!

Zebra mussels are advancing fast on Texas lakes and the City of Arlington is asking for everyone's help to keep these hardy, non-native bivalves from invading Lake Arlington. Simple steps will help repel these aquatic invaders, such as making sure watercraft are drained, looking over your boat to make sure zebra mussels and other invasives have not hitchhiked, and letting watercraft dry out for eight days or cleaning them with high pressure, high temperature water before launching into Lake Arlington.

"Lake Arlington serves as a drinking water source for 500,000 people, provides enjoyable fishing and boating opportunities, and hosts the first Texas Lake Paddling Trail,"Julie Hunt, Director of Arlington Water Utilities, commented, "With warm weather beginning, we want to make everyone aware of the problems zebra mussels pose and ask for help in protecting our lake."

Once zebra mussels get into a lake, they are impossible to eradicate. Zebra mussels can have devastating impacts on native ecosystems, ruin boating equipment, and clog raw water pipes and intakes, causing millions of dollars to be spent on zebra mussel control each year across the country. To report or find more information on zebra mussels or other invasive species, visit texasinvasives.org.

By Meagan Fendley