Barring Invasive Species From U.S. Waterways

March 25, 2009 -- The legislature of Idaho recently approved legislation granting up to $5 million to fight the invasive quagga mussel in the state, where it could potentially cause widespread damage by clogging water intakes and disrupting food supplies for native fish populations. It is estimated that it would cost up to $94 million a year to combat the mussel if it gains a strong foothold.

The quagga mussel, a fingernail-sized Ukrainian species notorious for invading and destroying native aquatic ecosystems, hitched its way over to the U.S. in ships’ ballast water, and has caused significant damage in major waterways around the world. One of the most significantly affected regions in the U.S. is the Great Lakes, where invasive species like the quagga and zebra mussels destroy the balance of an ecosystem that supplies drinking water to 40 million people.

In 2008 the National Research Council's Transportation Research Board issued "Special Report 291: Great Lakes Shipping, Trade, and Aquatic Invasive Species", which recommends immediate measures to prevent invasive species from entering the Great Lakes -- notably, adopting and enforcing ballast water standards identical to those proposed by the International Maritime Organization, as Canada has done.

• USGS Fact Sheet on Quagga Mussel