With the discovery of invasive zebra mussels in Central Texas' Belton Lake, experts are now worried that the destructive bivalve's spread will create long-term logistical and ecological complications for the state's reservoirs and drinking water.
The Texas
With the discovery of invasive zebra mussels in Central Texas' Belton Lake, experts are now worried that the destructive bivalve's spread will create long-term logistical and ecological complications for the state's reservoirs and drinking water.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department last week confirmed the presence of zebra mussels in Belton Lake, nearly 200 miles south of other lakes known to contain the species. Zebra mussels were first identified in Texas in 2009, but the Belton Lake discovery marks the first confirmation of the species in the Brazos River basin. Unlike most native mussel populations, zebra mussels can attach themselves to hard surfaces, including pipes. Once they grab hold, they colonize on top of one another, bonding together so strongly within a reservoir's pipe systems that they can restrict the flow of the pumped water, said Brian Van Zee, regional director for the parks department.
“Everything that’s downstream is at risk of getting contaminated as well,” Van Zee said. Although the mussels were first discovered in the lake in September, tests indicate that they may have been introduced as early as 2012.
Water utilities in North Texas have struggled with zebra mussels for years. In 2009, the Lake Texoma area lost 28 percent of its water