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Okoboji, IA (KICD) -- Could an invasive species be spreading through the Iowa Great Lakes?
DNR officials made the discovery of three additional juvenile zebra mussels. Biologist Mike Hawkins with the Iowa DNR said they were found on docks and hoists...
Hawkins says the find increases the likelihood that the invasive species may be establishing itself in the popular northwest Iowa chain of lakes, although the DNR is not ready to call it an infestation...
Zebra mussels are native to the Caspian Sea region of Asia and were introduced into the North American Great Lakes in the 1980s from ballast water of oceangoing ships. They have spread throughout lakes and rivers in the Midwest and around the country. Hawkins says the mussels can change water clarity, amongst other things...
Drinking water utilities and the State Fish Hatchery may be impacted since zebra mussels could attach and grow on the inside of intake pipes, potentially clogging them.
Hawkins says many other lakes are infested with zebra mussels and the impacts have been manageable." The impact to the Iowa Great Lakes is unclear if zebra mussels become established.
Currently there is no effective treatment to eradicate or control the mussels once they have infested a lake.
