Ohio Update - Exotics Invade Suburban Water Source

From October, 1995 (Update #25)

In late July, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discovered zebra mussels on a buoy at Alum Creek Reservoir near Columbus, Ohio, according to Columbus Division of Water's Perry Orndorff. The 3,300-acre reservoir, located north of Columbus, was constructed by the Corps of Engineers in the 1970s for flood control and water supply purposes. A monitoring buoy was placed in the reservoir last year to assist in finding zebra mussels. The buoy has been checked monthly. Follow-up dive surveys have turned up no additional zebra mussels. The reservoir is the source of water for a privately owned water utility serving suburban Columbus communities. Columbus residents don't receive water directly from the reservoir, although they do get water from Hoover Reservoir, which is connected to Alum Creek by an underground pipeline. During low water periods water is transferred from Alum Creek to Hoover. To date, no zebra mussels have been found in Hoover Reservoir. Alum Creek Reservoir has no horsepower limit for recreational boats, making it a popular boating spot. By contrast, Hoover Reservoir has a 10- horsepower limit for power boats, limiting recreational use. The private utility plans to use potassium permanganate to prevent a mussel infestation in its intake pipeline, Orndorff said. Columbus is also prepared to deal with zebra mussels if they show up in Hoover Reservoir. Orndorff also noted that zebra mussels were found this summer in a Bowling Green reservoir.

ID: 199510-11.

The Zebra Mussel Update was a 4- to 8-page quarterly national newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute from May 1990 through May 1997. The ZMU documented the spread of the zebra mussel -- an exotic nuisance mussel -- through North America's freshwater environments, especially the Great Lakes, and on efforts to control it.