Zebra mussel monitoring
In less than a decade, zebra mussels have become the latest environmental scourge to plague the North American power industry. Infestations in the Great Lakes region have already reached natural disaster proportions. The invasion shows little sign of subsiding; Michigan's inland waters are the next most likely threatened area. In the southern United States, the mussles' migration has extended about 50 miles deeper than experts had originally predicted. By the year 2000, zebra mussel monitoring and control efforts will cost business and industry $5 billion, according to the federal Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990. Estimates of more than $1 million to control mussel fouling are projected for the Great Lakes area alone. While small independent hydropower stations are not as susceptible to zebra mussles as coal or nuclear facilities, there is cause for concern. Infestations can quickly foul hydropower plant components, hampering equipment operation and reducing facility efficiency. In extreme cases, leaving the mussels unchecked can result in stoplog gate flow blockage or false water level gauge readings. Advance prevention is often an effective first-line of defense against this troublesome, rapidly spreading and extremely prolific mollusk. Mussel monitoring efforts should begin a year in advance of when zebra mussels are expected to appear in a given location. Hydropower facility components that come into contact or rely exclusively on raw water are at greatest risk, as are other external components such as embayment walls, screens, trashracks and fish ladders.
- OSTI ID:
- 5068559
- Journal Information:
- Independent Energy; (United States), Vol. 24:1; ISSN 1043-7320
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
An overview of filtration methods that can provide protection from the macrofouling zebra mussel at hydroelectric facilities
Zebra Mussel Monitoring and Control Guide
Related Subjects
BIOLOGICAL FOULING
COST
MONITORING
HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
MUSSELS
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
FOULING
INVERTEBRATES
MOLLUSCS
POWER PLANTS
130600* - Hydro Energy- Environmental Aspects
130500 - Hydro Energy- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects
130300 - Hydro Energy- Plant Design & Operation