Research Shows Bivalves Cleanse Water Sources
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Academic
Freshwater Bivalve Habitat can Amplify the Species' Capacity to Naturally Purify Water says the Stanford Research
Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, herbicides and flame retardants are increasingly showing up in waterways. New Stanford research finds that a natural, low-cost solution - clams and mussels - may already exist for these contaminants of emerging concern, or CECs.
These chemicals are found in some waters at trace levels; little is known about their ecosystem health impacts. But some have been implicated as potentially harmful to fish reproduction in waters receiving large inputs of wastewater.
In the right quantities, bivalves such as clams and mussels can remove some CECs from water in a matter of days, according to a Stanfordstudypublished inEnvironmental Science and Technology. The study's findings make a case for the conservation and restoration of freshwater bivalve habitat as a means of ensuring and amplifying the species' capacity to naturally purify water.
In the Stanford study, researchers subjected native California floater mussels and invasive Asian clams to treated wastewater with various concentrations of CECs. Within 72 hours, the clams and mussels had removed up to 80 percent of some of the chemicals.
Luthy speculated that municipal water treatment facilities were unlikely to employ bivalves in their systems, due to the management and maintenance issues involved. However, Luthy said, mussels and clams could be put to work in wetlands and managed natural water systems to further treat plant effluent, agricultural runoff and other wastewater sources. This arrangement could have the added benefit of saving bivalves themselves. More than 70 percent of native U.S. freshwater mussels are at risk of extinction.
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