Horvath says he will be talking about the biology of the mussels, the impacts the mussels will have on the lake and the lake’s users, the impacts the mussels may have in the future and the importance of maintaining the boat inspections that are already in place.

On June 25, village officials announced the discovery of a zebra mussel in the lake in Springfield. During a special meeting of the zebra mussel committee, Mayor Carol Waller said she dreaded the day this would come. She said, ``It’s bad news, but not the worst news. There’s no need for panic, we just have to deal with it."

Horvath says once zebra mussels are found, there is not much that can be done about them. He says natural predators such as crayfish, and certain birds and fish do eat the mussels, but not at a rate that can control them. He also says there are no known chemicals that would kill only the zebra mussels.

Horvath says he does not know the exact number of mussels that are currently in the lake, but says there have been many reports of people seeing them so he can only figure they are becoming more distributed throughout the lake.

``My guess is, in the next couple of years people will start to see them and they will be a common site at the lake,’’ Horvath said.

Carl Good, a member of the zebra mussel committee, says many adult zebra mussels have been found all throughout the lake and he suspects that people will see colonies all over in a couple of years.

``We were always fairly certain they would arrive,’’ Good said. "We were just trying to prevent it for as long as we possibly could.’’

Good says the efforts to keep the zebra mussels out of the lake were worthwhile because it gave them time to study the mussels and figure out how to deal with them now.

He says the lake is much better off because of the village’s boat inspections that helped keep the zebra mussels out of Otsego Lake for four years despite large populations in nearby waters.

Once the mussels become more populous, Horvath says people will begin to notice the zebra mussels in the shallow parts of the water and on the shore.

He says once this happens, people will have to start adapting by wearing shoes while walking along shore of the lake to protect their feet from the sharp shells. Horvath also says people will

need to be more careful when hanging on the pier or on floats because the mussels like to grasp onto things.

Zebra mussels are known for attaching to the bottom of boats and Horvath says he believes that was ``more than likely’’ how the mussels got into the lake in the first place. He says recreational boats are almost always responsible for carrying things such as zebra mussels from lake to lake.

This is why Horvath says he believes the current visual inspections of boats before entering new waters is very important.

Good says the village boat inspections will continue. He says the village is trying to prevent other invasive species, such as the quagga mussels, from entering the lake. Good says Otsego Lake would be prone to supporting guagga mussels because of its desired thermo cline levels.

The clinging of zebra mussels onto a boat’s motor can slow the boat down and decrease the boat’s efficiency. It can also damage the motor, according to Horvath.

Another concern is how the mussels will affect water supplies. Horvath says the zebra mussels can get into water lines and can clog up pipes.

Good says even though nothing can be done to get rid of the mussels once they get into a lake, there are now devices that can be used to prevent the mussels from clustering on things such as water pipes that were not around three to four years ago.

One such device is a ceramic sleeve that fits over the end of the pipe that is used to get water directly from the lake. Good says the sleeve can be purchased for a couple hundred of dollars and is put over the pipe during the summer season and removed and dried at the end of the year.

He says the mussels attached to the sleeve will die and can be brushed off the sleeve, which can be used again the following year.

``The mussels have surprised us in other lakes, so it is hard to predict what might possibly happen,’’ said Horvath.

Additional activities and topics that will be discussed at the Otsego Lake Association meeting include:

other exotic species that threaten the lake

an update on the Lakefront Park buffer strip project

presentation of Lake Citizen Awards

distribution of ``Smart Steps for Otsego Lake’’ publication

Anyone who spots a zebra mussel is asked to collect the mussel, freeze it in a container and e-mail Horvath to report it (horvattg@oneonta.edu) or call the Biological Field Station at 547-8778.

The meeting will be held at Thayer Farm Upland Interpretive Center located on Route 80. Coffee and donuts will be served before the meeting at 8:30 a.m.