U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse introduced legislation on Tuesday aimed at boosting efforts to slow the spread of highly invasive aquatic species in waterways across Colorado and the West, following the detection of zebra mussels in several locations on the Western Slope this summer. …. Bennet and Daines have introduced several versions of the bill dating back to 2019. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced in July that testing had confirmed the presence of zebra mussel larvae, known as veligers, in the Colorado River and in the Government Highline Canal near Grand Junction. The species poses an “extreme risk” to water ecosystems because it strips plankton, an essential food source, from the water. Adult zebra mussels can also threaten water supplies and irrigation systems by impeding or stopping water flows and attaching to infrastructure, causing millions of dollars in damages and increased maintenance costs.