Boat inspection finds zebra mussels on pontoon

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) - Twin Falls County officials say a pontoon boat carrying zebra mussels was stopped and cleaned as it entered Idaho from Nevada.

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture is in its second year of inspecting boats as they come into the state in an effort to keep mussels out of Idaho. Mussels threaten food sources for fish and clog machinery and water pipes.

Sgt. Matthew Eden says the boat was stopped on U.S. Highway 93 in southern Twin Falls County north of the Nevada state line on Thursday.

The Times-News reports a Boise company used both pressurized hot water and blasted the boat with pellets of dry ice to remove the mussels. Power Wash Plus president Chuck Dearman says the boat was owned by a Donnelly resident who had been at Lake Havasu in Arizona.

Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com