Mussels’ last meal

Scientists want to add bacteria that are lethal to invasive mollusks to water at Hoover or Davis dams, but they say tests will be done to ensure safety

Chris Morris

Fri, Jun 20, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Courtesy of BRYAN MOORE, National Park Service

Quagga mussels, here clinging to a water intake structure, can clog and damage machinery and were found infesting Lake Mead last year.

Get rid of pest? Not if it turns tap water pink (7-21-2007)
Mussels now contained but need monitoring (1-18-2007)
Lake Mead mussels identified as quagga, not zebra (1-13-2007)

They are so common they’re swimming in your spoiled milk, growing on the cheese left too long in the back of the fridge.

But if bacteria were about to be released into your drinking water supply, would you worry?

The Bureau of Reclamation says you shouldn’t. Its scientists want to set Pseudomonas fluorescens loose at either Hoover Dam or Davis Dam (near Laughlin) this fall as a cavalry charge in what has so far been a losing battle against the invasive quagga mussel. Quaggas, which can clog water intakes and damage pumps and other machinery, hitched a ride from their native Ukraine to the Great Lakes about 20 years ago and were found to be infesting Lake Mead last year.

Water authorities and power plants now use chlorine and other chemicals to rid pipes of the clinging critters. But the quaggas can recognize the chemical as bad for them, and when they do, they close up and often avoid ingesting enough of it to kill them, according to Pam Marrone, founder of the California organic pesticide company working on an alternative.

There are other drawbacks to using chemicals against quaggas, including the detrimental effects on the environment. Chlorine and similar chemicals also can form cancer-causing carcinogens when combined with organic matter in the water supply, according to Peggy Roefer, regional water quality program manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Enter the bacterium that guards against root rot in the typical garden plot. Turns out it produces a toxin that kills the quagga, and its equally troublesome cousin, the zebra mussel. Mussels feed on the bacterium and don’t realize it’s deadly until it’s too late.

Even dead Pseudomonas fluorescens kill the quagga, according to Dan Malloy, a research scientist at the New York State Museum in Albany who searched for the right bacterium for years.

He found the quagga killer to be harmless to several native fish and shellfish species tested, as well as to humans, Malloy said.

“We have been working with this bacterium for well over a decade. It’s everywhere. It’s already in the drinking water,” Malloy said, adding that his job is to work to preserve the environment, not pollute it. “I am a tree-hugger devoted to reducing the use of poisonous pesticides.”

In tests performed at New York power plants more than a year ago, the bacteria succeeded in killing up to 90 percent of zebra mussels and 70 percent of quagga mussels. And the bacteria may be even more successful at killing quagga and zebra mussels in the Southwest, because their kill rate is higher in warm, hard water.

Malloy and Marrone hope to begin testing the bacteria’s ability to kill quaggas in the region’s hydroelectric dam pipes this year, the next step toward developing a product that could be used commercially by power plants and water treatment facilities as soon as late 2009 or early 2010.

Marrone said tests wouldn’t begin on the Colorado River before this fall, and would be small. Still, they would be the first time the bacteria have been tested in the wild.

But Marrone admitted there are still several hurdles to overcome before testing could begin, including Environmental Protection Agency permitting.

The EPA extensively evaluates biopesticides before their approval to ensure safety for people and the environment, according to spokesman Dale Kemery. He said the process usually takes years and requires extensive scientific data for approval.

The EPA does issue experimental use permits. Officials met in March with representatives of Marrone Organic Innovations to discuss those regulations. The company has yet to apply for registration of its product, however, Kemery said.

Marrone’s company is still perfecting the recipe. The bacteria are grown in stainless steel vats, fermented like beer, for two days. The company will test different formulas, including pellets, liquids and powders. Marrone said it’s important that it not only be safe and effective, but also organic, because it will go into water that could be used at organic farms.

Marrone’s company is paying for development of the bacteria pesticide in part with a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation that it’s splitting with Malloy’s lab.

Marrone’s half of the grant will pay for tests on rats necessary for EPA registration. Her company will test the effects of the pesticide when inhaled, ingested and exposed to skin.

She said the company may ask states where it plans to test to apply for emergency exemptions, which would let Marrone to test the formula outside the lab sooner than would normally be allowed.

Exemptions are granted by the EPA, Kemery said, when another pesticide isn’t available to control a problem that is both sudden and poses “an imminent threat.”

Marrone said the tests might also be subject to state environmental protection laws.

Spokesman Dante Pisonte said the Nevada Environmental Protection Division would issue a letter of approval, rather than a permit, after consulting with state and federal wildlife officials and determining that the pesticide would not harm Lake Mead or its wildlife.

Malloy will use his half of the National Science Foundation grant, plus $100,000 this year from the Bureau of Reclamation, to determine whether the bacteria are also deadly to quagga and zebra mussel larvae, called veligers. The bureau expects to contribute $600,000 to $700,000 over three years to complete those tests, according to Dr. Kevin Kelly, a bureau scientist coordinating the laboratory tests with Malloy.

Fred Nibbling, an invasive species researcher with the bureau, said his agency’s first priority is getting quagga mussels out of its power plants. But he hopes Marrone and Malloy can come up with a formula that would kill quagga mussel veligers swimming free in Lake Mead and other parts of the Colorado River system, too.

And although some scientists say Malloy’s work is the most promising fix they’ve seen yet for the quagga, he’s not the only one searching for the perfect killer.

Roefer, water quality manager with the Water Authority, said the authority hosted a quagga mussel conference with 32 people, including 12 quagga experts, in April to discuss ongoing and needed research. Roefer said more funding is needed, though.

Discussion: 11 comments so far…

By Lover_of_Lake_Powell

6/20/08 at 3:21 p.m.

Suggest removal

I know the Glen Canyon NRA (Lake Powell) staff is starting to realize they have a major PR disaster on their hands and a probable catastrophe if they do allow quagga mussels to infect Lake Powell. Recently random inspections were begun, however the overall quqgga policy, led by the Lake Powell Fisheries Czar, Wayne Gustavenson, is still a criminal and idiotic voluntary process that requires honesty by the park visitors.

Utah, since the inception of the quagga mussel battle has performed admirably in relation to its size; however, there is one person, Fisheries Czar, who shows no inclination to toughen what is currently a voluntary process that requires honesty by the GCNRA park visitors. There is no 7/24 presence at the GCNRA gates and none planned. This policy is based on the flawed 100th Meridian Initiative. This is the same policy that resulted in Lake Mead, the lower Colorado River and a plethora of Southern California counties to becoming infected with quagga mussels.

I am now of the opinion that the ad hoc response by Utah, the Feds and the other Colorado River states and the vesting of policy authority in public officials like Wayne Gustavenson—dooms us to eventual infection of the entire Colorado River system. We must immediately impose mandatory inspections on all entry points and if they cannot be put in place then banning boats are the only effective solution until at such a time proper procedures can be put in place. I advocate that boats be banded to their trailers to allow verification at a Colorado River or body of water’s entry point that they have not be used somewhere else, that may have been infected. This type of approach may help until the sciencetist perfect the biological agent to tackle the quagga/zebra mussel threat.

I am very pleased that it sounds like the officials at Lake Mead have a great plan and an excellent staff. While I'm sure Mr. Gustaveson is doing the best he can with what he has to work with at Lake Powell, he is without question the wrong person to be leading the mussel interdiction effort. Mr. Gustaveson has a full time job as GCNRA Director of Fisheries. The potential eco-disaster posed by a mussel infestation DEMANDS a full time professional on the job with a large budget, adequate manpower and real enforcement authority, none of which is offered by Mr. Gustaveson.
-rich herron
San Diego, CA
By rainyroads

6/20/08 at 4:16 p.m.

Suggest removal

I completely agree with Mr. Herron's insightful appraisal of the situation. If Lake Powell becomes infested with mussels it will be a disaster of untold proportions and the entire Colorado River ecosystem from Glen Canyon Dam through the Grand Canyon will fall.

So far the mussel interdiction effort has been nothing more than a skunk works, inadequitely funded, understaffed, poorly implemented, and led by part-time people with little expertise in the field of dealing with invasive species.

One would think that a problem of this magnitude would demand full time professional leadership and the total cooperation of state and federal authorities. So far none of that has not been forthcoming.
By Lover_of_Lake_Powell

6/20/08 at 7:15 p.m.

Suggest removal

Thank you rainyroads for the feedback. I am happy that more feel that way. For more info on Lake Powell info please refer to...
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LakePowell...
By Jimmycrackkorn

6/20/08 at 8:57 p.m.

Suggest removal

Went to your site for Lake Powell info and all I found was about ten people who seem awfully bitter and angry at the world spewing venom. That kind of Lake Powell info I can do without.
By Lover_of_Lake_Powell

6/21/08 at 8:44 a.m.

Suggest removal

I note that you did not comment on my comment, or the LVS article. It is a free country Jimmy, feel free to move on. The yahoo site is an adult blog and open to all people who rather discuss Lake Powell topics than bury their heads in the sand. You may be like the rest of Wayne's Gustavenson's supporters who cannot defend the indefensible (i.e. his policies and performance on the quagga mussel issue) and would rather restrict what others say rather than attempt a serious rebuttal. That's your choice. Thank you for taking the time to check it out.
-rich
By f16driver

6/21/08 at 9:48 a.m.

Suggest removal

I've always wanted to go to Lake Powell. Really enjoyed Mead because it's so close to us. I hope it remains mussel-free (powell). It's good to see they are exploring many options.

I too, went to the linked site and was totally turned off. I was looking for ideas for vacation. I saw one post about some trip by a trash tracker and the rest was commentary on another site. The content reminded me of how jr. high girls react when they are not part of the right 'clique'. I won't be back -there's no content or credibility. Don't know if there's any anywhere else, but I'll be looking elsewhere to plan our vacation.
By pigo

6/21/08 at 10:06 a.m.

Suggest removal

Well, f-16, sorry you feel that way. Your handle gives me the impression that you are a supporter of free speech.

It's a long story that you are apparently not interested in. And one that we may go a bit overboard in responding to the hatred and racism we received on another site. We have pretty much accomplished the goal of shutting down the most objectionable on the other site and are in the process of scaling back some of our counter attacks.

Our site IS populated by people that actually DO use Lake Powell as well and residents, business owners, and politicians from Page, AZ. If you have questions about a vacation at Lake Powell just ask a question and you can follow that thread only if the other are a little too hot to handle.

We'd love to see you.
By Lover_of_Lake_Powell

6/21/08 at 11:19 a.m.

Suggest removal

If you are an F16 driver then I tip my hat to you, protecting our country and freedoms. Thank you. As Pigo remarked, the Yahoo site is frequented by core Lake Powell users. Small, vocal, have influence and inalienable to the protection of Lake Powell. That site is not a tourist promotion site, but we can point you to those places. What type of vacation to you have envisioned? Houseboat or lake camping. Into fishing or boat sports like water skiing / wake-boarding. Want to hike, etc. Just ask and we’ll try to help or point you in the right direction. In any event thank you for visiting.
-rich
By Jimmycrackkorn

6/21/08 at 11:31 a.m.

Suggest removal

I don't know this Wayne person but from what I read there is not much adult behavior at your site. Sounds more like a group of children that is very angry and cannot get over it. I do want to thank you for providing a real lake powell website in your rants. It seems that one can gather some real info on the lake over there. I will visit there often.
By Lover_of_Lake_Powell

6/21/08 at 12:22 p.m.

Suggest removal

Dear Jimmy, I may have issues with Wayne Gustaveson (the public official in charge of Lake Powell's quagga mussel policy) and some of his die-hard cabal of supporters and enablers, but www.waynewords.com is the biggest, unique and most helpful site dedicated to Lake Powell. We can never compete against it nor would I want to try. Please go there and tell them LOLP sent you in good faith. You're welcome.
-rich
By rainyroads

6/21/08 at 12:36 p.m.

Suggest removal

Ditto Jimmy! We hope you enjoy your visits to Lake Powell and if there's any way we can help, please don't hesitate to ask. Wayne, by the way, is the Lake Powell Director of Fisheries and works for the State of Utah.

Please don't be too eager to judge without knowing any of the history or the facts. We're all here because we love the lake and hopefully you will as well. Peace.