41 / 52
BY SARAH HOFFMANN
In 2015, a few capable canines joined
human inspectors in their e orts to find
any stowaway mussels before they enter
the province. Three dogs work full time
sni ng boats, many of which provide
hiding places for mussels.
“We were able to show that the dogs
were very accurate and very e cient
when inspecting the boats,” said Cindy
Sawchuk, invasive species conservation
lead with Alberta Environment and Parks
(AEP). “Mussels like to hide in dark, damp
places, so the dogs help with that a lot.”
Recognizing the risk that invasive
mussels pose to its members, AIPA has
contributed $215,000 to fund the training
of more canine inspectors and their han-
dlers, as well as “clean, drain, dry” signage
at lakes and reservoirs.
In 2016, AEP inspected 19,000 boats, a
massive increase from the 395 boats that
were examined during the inspection
program’s first year in 2013. Seventeen
mussel-fouled boats were intercepted—14
originated from Alberta’s neighbouring
provinces to the east and three came from
the United States. The inspection stations
were open from March to October of 2016
and will reopen again this month, as a
number of boats belonging to Canadian
“snowbirds” return to the country.
In addition to inspections, AEP also
monitors Alberta’s waterways for mussels
and their larvae. In 2016, 70 water bodies
were inspected for both adult mussels and
larvae.
So far, all water bodies have tested neg-
ative, but mussels might not be kept at bay
forever. An emergency response plan is in
place in the event of an initial detection,
and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry is
currently researching the possibility of
using potash dissolved in water to control
mussels in the irrigation system.
The potassium in potash is toxic to
mussels, but doesn’t harm other fish and
water insects. Some smaller water bodies
in the U.S. have been treated successfully
with potash, but the current focus is on
using potash to control the mussels within
the irrigation infrastructure.
Last year, scientists successfully inject-
ed water containing dissolved granular
potash into a producer’s pipeline.
“Once the potash-treated water has
been placed in the pipelines, we’re
currently thinking it will be held in the
pipeline for a few days and then that water
will have to be irrigated out onto the
crop,” said Barry Olson, soil and water re-
search scientist with Alberta Agriculture
and Forestry’s water quality branch.
Although not yet registered for control
of mussels in Alberta, potash seems like
a promising product to control mussels in
irrigation systems. Along with being safe
for other aquatic species, it is non-corro-
sive and already present in Alberta’s clay
soils, according to Olson. His department
is also researching the e ects of multiple
potash applications on crop quality and
soil chemistry.
“A likely scenario is that it will be going
into maintenance,” said Olson. “We won’t
eradicate the mussels but hopefully we’ll
keep them clear.”
Groups like the Milk River Water-
shed Council Canada (MRWCC) are
geographically on the frontlines of the
mussel threat and work across borders
to prevent the species’ spread. The Milk
River begins in Montana before travel-
ling into southern Alberta, then back
into Montana and eventually into the
Missouri River system. With much of
its flow being directed from another
river system—the St. Mary—the Milk
River could potentially be at the epicen-
tre of the cascading e ects of a mussel
invasion, explained MRWCC executive
director Tim Romanow. The council
encourages private irrigators on the Milk
River to inspect their pumps for mussels
when they put them away in the fall.
Romanow is pleased with the work the
government has done to bolster enforce-
ment and inspections in the province,
but he knows the risk is still high in some
areas.
“There is a quite a bit of local tra c
that will go back and forth from the Tiber
Reservoir into Duck Lake and into the
Waterton Lakes, which are the headwaters
for Milk River and St. Mary’s,” said Ro-
manow. “Those boats wouldn’t be crossing
where there’s an inspection station.”
MUSSEL MAYHEM:
If they made it into Alberta, invasive quagga and zebra mussels could build
up in irrigation pipelines and other water infrastructure, causing millions of dollars in damage.
Spring
2017
grainswest.com41