Summer is behind us and our off-season boating program will soon commence!

• Stevens Creek Reservoir and Coyote Lake will begin their seasonal closures, due to the quagga/zebra mussel program, on October 15th 2009. 

• Calero and Anderson Reservoirs will remain open on a 5-day operational schedule, due to the quagga/zebra mussel program, beginning October 15th 2009. 

• Calero Reservoir will be closed on Monday and Tuesday of each week and Anderson Reservoir will close for use on Wednesdays and Thursdays of each week. 

• All four reservoirs will begin a 7-day a week operation on April 14th 2010.

Vessel inspections continue so please be diligent in making your vessel - boat, kayak, personal watercraft etc. clean and dry. Not a spot of water can be seen or felt  - even water from your beverage coolers.  Please remember that only TWO county reservoirs are open for boating in the off-season (October-April). Those reservoirs include Anderson and Calero.  All other reservoirs and bodies of water are closed indefinitely to boating (including model boats) - those are Almaden, Chesbro, Sandy Wool, Cottonwood, Grant, Guadalupe, Lexington, Uvas, Vasona and the percolation ponds at Los Gatos Creek County Park.  

Please be aware that all watercraft entering the four Santa Clara County reservoirs mentioned above will be subject to a vessel inspection.  Santa Clara County Parks wants to educate park visitors on the quagga and zebra mussel threat.  These tiny mussels are an invasive species that present a negative environmental impact on California’s reservoirs and waterways.  They can breed rapidly and can clog pipes and valves posing a threat to municipal water systems, aquatic food chains in lakes, access for fishing and boating, and recreation-based economics.

Based on new protocols, inspectors will perform visual inspections on every watercraft entering Anderson Lake, Coyote Lake, Calero Reservoir and Stevens Creek Reservoir. All other county reservoirs will be closed to watercraft.  Before you go out to a reservoir, please take a look at the publication (at the bottom of this page) "A Guide to Cleaning Boats" provided to you by the California Department of Fish and Game.

All watercraft, including but not limited to, power boats, personal watercraft, sailboats, kayaks, canoes, and float tubes will be subject to inspection. Please prepare your vessel – powerboats, kayaks, canoes, personal watercraft, etc. - for inspection by having them clean and DRY. Current vessel registration documents are required at the time of inspection. If the vessel is not required to be registered then the vehicle registration will be required. In addition to inspection, vessels coming from all counties south of the Tehachapi Mountains will be denied entry as well as vessels from out of state. those counties include: San Luis Obispo, Kern, San Bernandino, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial.

A $7.00 non-refundable inspection fee will be collected per inspection. An annual vessel inspection pass of $35 is also offered. A vessel inspection pass is only good for one inspection on one vessel per park entry. Passes can be purchased at Parks Administration, 298 Garden Hill Drive, Los Gatos. Boating reservations can be made at www.gooutsideandplay.org or by calling (408) 355-2201.

A “banding” program will be offered to vessel owners in an effort to reduce additional fees being collected. Once a vessel has left the reservoir for the day, a tyvek band may be attached to the vessel between the winch hook of the trailer and the eyebolt of the bow of the vessel. If this band is broken upon reentry into the reservoir, that vessel must be re-inspected before entering the water and an inspection fee will be collected. If any vessels are found to have water in the bilge or live well, or are not clean, they will not be allowed to launch and will be subject to quarantine. Please allow yourself enough time to get your boat off the water and banded before the inspection station closes at half hour before sunset.

If a vessel fails inspection it will be quarantined for up to 5 days or banned indefinitely if mussels or larvae are detected on the vessel or its trailer. 

WET WEATHER POLICY

Santa Clara

County Parks

For additional information on the quagga and zebra mussel threat, please refer to the following resources - www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/quaggamussel/ or www.parkhere.org.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO STAY CLEAN AND DRY!

Remember when you plan your visit to any Santa Clara County Waterways to prepare your vessel – powerboats, kayaks, canoes and jetskis - by having them clean and dry for inspection. 

What is clean and dry?

• Wash the hull of each vessel thoroughly.
•  Inspect all exposed surfaces – small mussels feel like sandpaper to the touch.
•  Drain plugs pulled, no water in bilge, live well or integral coolers.
• No mud, debris, aquatic weed or algae on hull, trailer or motor.
• Lower units on vessels should be dry – when lowered they should not contain water.

The future of boating in Santa Clara County waterways depends on your cooperation and support.

PLEASE KEEP OUR WATERS CLEAN AND ACCESSIBLE.