Mussels To Monitor Drinking Water
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology
Molinecity is experimenting with an early warning system that could prevent contamination of its drinking water, and its unlikely partner is the fatmucket
Fatmuckets are mussels common to Midwest waters, according to the Illinois Natural History Survey. They usually measure a few inches across, and their shells are light brown.
Moline is experimenting with them as a way to warn of contaminants in the water, said Greg Swanson, the city's utilities general manager.
The mussels are sensitive to a broad variety of potential contaminants, and change their behavior if they encounter something in the water they don't like, he said."They're like the canary in the coal mine."
The mussels have a pretty predictable routine of opening their shells to feed, then closing them, so if water conditions worsen, the mussels change that pattern, closing to protect themselves from whatever is causing the problem, Mr. Swanson said.
About a dozen fatmuckets kept in a drum-shaped container above the water intakes at a MidAmerican Energy Co. substation south of Lock and Dam 14 in LeClaire monitor water for several Quad-Cities municipalities, including Moline, he said.
Source : Qconline.com
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Taxonomy
- Chemistry
- Contaminant Movement Mapping
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