Mussels might help Moline monitor drinking water

The city 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.

Samples of river water are pumped over the mussels, who have sensors attached to their shell that give warnings if the mussel starts deviating from its normal pattern when exposed to the samples. Then, further water samples are taken and tested, which could minimize the threat of contamination from man-made spills or natural phenomena.

The mussels are not harmed in the process, Mr. Swanson said.

The fatmuckets were set up about a year ago, but the system is not yet online, he said. The city has been gathering data on their routines to minimize the risk of a warning based on a false positive reading. The hope is to start field tests this summer.

The safety of the Quad-Cities drinking water will not rely on mussels alone, Mr. Swanson said. There are two other sensor arrays, one using ultraviolet light to check for contaminants, that already are part of the system.

The city, along with other groups and state and federal agencies, have been experimenting with early warning mechanisms for drinking water systems for several years, he said. A number of other groups have participated off and on in the mussel experiment, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In 2014, Moline, Rock Island, East Moline, Iowa American Water and the Rock Island Arsenal formed the Quad Cities Area Mississippi River Water Suppliers Coalition in an attempt to be better prepared for an emergency that could threaten local drinking water supplies.



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