[2] Power Council Hears Update On Growing Mussel Threat

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council heard some disturbing news from agencies last month about how hard it would be to repel an invasion of quagga or zebra mussels from the Midwest, where they have caused billions of dollars in damage by plugging pipes at water plants and cooling systems.

Despite improved monitoring of reservoirs and boats being hauled west on trucks, it's probably only a matter of time before the tiny invaders show up around the Columbia Basin.

And nobody has yet figured out just how to combat the prolific mussels or how much it will cost to keep them at bay.

The invaders have already made it west of the Rockies, and entered the Colorado River, where they were found in Lake Mead in 2007 and have become a major headache for government agencies.

They have grown so prolifically that they have reduced water flows through trash racks at Hoover Dam by 50 percent, while threatening to clog pipes that carry water to keep turbine bearings cool and well lubricated.

And some zebra mussels actually crossed the Columbia last November--on the bottom of a 50-foot pleasure boat being trucked from Lake Michigan to Puget Sound.

The mussels were spotted at a truck scale on I-90, near Cle Elum, Wash., but the driver left before WDFW personnel could arrive to decontaminate the boat. The boat hauler wasn't actually stopped until he had reached Blaine, Wash., where the boat was to be launched.

The truck driver was later charged with unlawful transportation of a deleterious exotic species and for making false statements. When he failed to appear in court, an arrest warrant was issued.

Agencies are still trying to sort out who is responsible for what. Scott Lund, the Bureau of Reclamation's integrated pest management coordinator, said his agency doesn't really manage the reservoirs that hold the water that BuRec is charged with distributing throughout the West.

At a panel discussion during the Feb. 9 Council meeting, he said that is done by the Bureau's managing partners--usually the states, or with tribes as well. That's how it's done at Lake Roosevelt, behind Grand Coulee Dam.

Nor does Reclamation have authority to shut down a boat ramp or treat a reservoir for an infestation of mussels.

"It's not within our statutory authority," said Lund.

"That's not a very good answer," mumbled one of the Council members.

New Council Chair Bruce Measure noted the complexity of mobilizing, state, tribal and federal forces "to move this thing forward," but he said the region needs a unified vision to address this issue, because it's a problem that doesn't respect geo-political boundaries.

However, the Columbia Basin does have a "rapid response plan" to deal with a potential invasion. The current October 2008 version has been signed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

But that doesn't mean the plan is ready to go if the critters appear next week. One idea that was floated during last week's discussion was to have ESA Clean Water Act permits in hand ahead of time, so mitigation efforts could begin quickly.

But USFWS spokesman, Paul Heimowitz, from his agency's Pacific regional office, said "we certainly don't have something we can pull out of the toolbox and use in an eradication effort without complications."

However, he said there is a process to bring the agencies together.

"It's more important that we have that structure of how decisions get made and the list of options, so that that part can happen quickly," he said. "Every situation is going to be different, but we do have appendices in the plan that point to certain tools, that have some likelihood of ... we know how to kill things, I guess is the bottom line."

But Heimowitz said the question really goes back to the kinds of side effects that the region is willing to live with.

BPA's Jim Clune, acting manager of federal hydro projects, said his agency has been dealing with the invasive mussel issue for 10 years, working with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to build a nuisance species prevention program.

Over the past few years, BPA has also supported exercises to test the rapid response plan, worked with the 100th Meridian Initiative, which coordinates nuisance species prevention in the region, and has supported efforts to develop protocols for a watercraft interception program.

Monitoring programs have been increased at Corps of Engineers' projects in the basin, and boosted education for boaters about the mussels.

The power-marketing agency has also partnered with Portland State University to develop anti-fouling coatings (Evidently, there are some coatings that show promise in combating the infestations).

Another new project has had researchers truck Columbia River water down to Lake Mead to grow mussels in it, so they can predict growth rate and plan future maintenance costs at hydro facilities in the basin.

The Bureau of Reclamation has already begun a major research effort at Hoover and other dams in the Southwest, said BuRec's Lund.

"Those facilities have been hit particularly hard, especially because of the year-round reproductive capabilities in those waters," said Lund.

He described research with coatings, pesticides, and bacteria, all showing some promise, along with some non-invasive methodologies like the use of underwater high-velocity jetting for cleaning surfaces, UV light, and micro filtration, which are a lot simpler to implement because no CWA permit is needed.

The Corps' Bob Willis said a vulnerability assessment for Bonneville Dam was completed in 2008. His agency is currently working on assessments for The Dalles and John Day dams, and is looking at expanding to other projects as well.

Scott Rumsey, regional RM&E coordinator for NMFS, said his agency has had only a tangential impact on the mussel issue from its role in fish management, but is working towards playing a role in the rapid response plan.

As for the boat that made it clean across the state of Washington with a load of live zebra mussels, the experts told the Council that even the proper 2-hour cleaning of a boat couldn't insure that all the mussels would be removed, since the little invaders prefer nooks and crannies like those found in the drives of inboard/outboards. They said a 30-day dry-out period would be a much better solution. -B. R.

The following links were mentioned in this story:

NW Fishletter #265, August 18, 2009

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