As Winfield residents bask in the rising temperatures of spring, thousands of unwanted visitors at the Winfield City Lake will be enjoying the warmer weather too ? and breeding thousands more of their kind as long as the water temperature stays above 54 degrees.
In December, local and state officials acknowledged the infiltration of the zebra mussel into the lake despite their best attempts to keep out the non-native species. Signs at the lake warned boaters and fishermen to empty ballast water between lake visits and let their gear dry before setting sail.
The mussels and their larvae can attach to boats and survive several days ? or even weeks ? on land if they aren’t scrubbed off.
Over the past two decades the fingernail-sized miscreants have made a steady journey south from the Great Lakes, finally arriving at the shores of Winfield’s only lake and a major water source for more than 18,000 area residents.
“We’re keeping a very close eye on Winfield City Lake,” said Jason Goeckler, aquatic nuisance species coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. “We’re taking monthly samples to see how quickly they are infesting the lake. We’re working with the city to protect the water source and working with Southwestern College to do information gathering and conduct research.”
Zebra mussels can affect Winfield’s water source in a couple of significant ways, according to Winfield City Manager Warren Porter. First, they have the ability to clog intake pipes leading to the water filtering system which could potentially affect equipment. Second, zebra mussels act as a filtering system of their own because they glean nutrients from the water (the same nutrients and bits eaten by native fish), ultimately making the water clearer.
Clear water is a prime breeding ground for blue and green algae, said Porter. Algae has been responsible for changes in tap water taste and smell in past years, but that shouldn’t be a problem with the newer ozone treatment.
“We’re way ahead of other lakes because we use the ozone,” he said.
At the most, Winfield may need to purchase custom made screens for its intake pipes to keep zebra mussels from entering the system, said Porter. They may also have to pay a diver or two to go underwater to install new screens and clean up existing ones. Porter said he doesn’t see the mussels as a “long-term problem.”
AN EXPENSIVE FIX
Steve Hollenbeak might disagree with Porter’s assessment.
A greenskeeper at Winfield Country Club, Hollenbeak spent $10,000 of the country club’s money ? a scarce resource these days due to dwindling membership numbers ? to purchase a system that treats the golf course’s irrigation system with high doses of sulphuric and urea acid.
Zebra mussels crept into the club’s pond via supply pipes that retrieve water from the Walnut River. A tributary of Eldorado Lake, the Walnut River is also infected.
Efforts failed at keeping zebra mussels out of the lake in Eldorado where they have proliferated for the past three years, clogging water pipes and covering every solid surface imaginable.
Hollenbeak discovered the mollusks clustered on an aeration pump at the country club about a year ago.
“That thing was covered in a month,” said Hollenbeak. “There were thousands of them.”
Zebra mussels can’t tolerate water with a high ph (high acidic content) so Hollenbeak is using the pricey equipment to flush acidic water through his irrigation system, hopefully killing off any mussels or larvae that could potential wreck the lines. The greenskeeper has already found broken shells in the lines, but has been able to clean those out.
After discovering the zebra mussels, Hollenbeak did some research and located a Wisconsin golf course using the acid method. That course had treated the mussels successfully, but courses that didn’t use the treatment ended up replacing their entire irrigation systems.
While no treatment exists to stop the spread of the zebra mussel, Wildlife and Park’s Goeckler said scientists are working to find a cure. Some research is being conducted to quell the spread using potash, also known as potassium chloride, said Goeckler. Potash is primarily used for making liquid starter fertilizer, according to an Internet source, but treatment is expensive.
Goeckler estimates that ? if it works ? treating a body of water the size of Winfield City Lake could cost a staggering $10 million.
“That’s why it’s so important to keep zebra mussels at a minimum, so that when we’re treating it does not cost too much,” he said.
The country club is spending another $3,000 for more of the acids as it gears up for the hot summer months when zebra mussels are likely to reproduce faster.
“I would venture to say that if I didn’t have this system by summer there would be a problem,” said Hollenbeak. “They work fast.”
The country club isn’t alone when it comes to the financial strain of fighting the steadily encroaching zebra mussel. It is estimated that the United States has spent billions of dollars over the past 20 years attempting to rid its waterways of zebra mussels.
Because human movement and recreation are responsible for the spread of the zebra mussel, officials have been able to do little more than monitor the creature’s geographical advancement, Goeckler said.
So far the mussels haven’t been an issue at the Cowley State Fishing Lake near Arkansas City. But without treatment the future looks grim for local waterways and the people who enjoy them, Goeckler said.
Because zebra mussel shells are razor sharp and can cover rocks in numbers up to 700,000 per square meter, shoes will be a necessity when wading in the lake. The mussels may have periodic die-offs that create odor from dying carcasses that litter beaches with thousands of shells.
“That’s kind of painting a bleak picture, but those are the detrimental effects,” said Goeckler. “All is not lost, but those are the negative things. Hopefully the technology will be there so we can eradicate them.”
