Arkansas - Colorado State Parks Zebra Mussel Response_Application

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Highlights of the Lower Colorado Dams Office Quagga Mussel Action Plan Installation of monitoring equipment and replacem ent strainers Installation of smooth metal or stainless steel plates at 10 foot intervals in the fore bay of each dam near the intakes and tail bay areas. Smooth plates are preferred because half of the plate will be scraped on a monthly basis to determine new mussel settlement. The remaining un-scraped half of the plate will be observed for colon ization over tim e. During the first week of each month, findings from each plate will be recorded. Bio-boxes will be installed on internal piping in an area closest to the beginning of the cooling water intake lines, and if possible, at the end of the process. Visual inspections of all trash racks will be done every 3 to 4 months beginning in April and continuing through November. All pipeline intakes and strainers will be inspected also to observe or remove colonization. Immediately replace all duplex strainers with 1/8" screens. Self cleaning strainers may be required with smaller screen. Accumulation of mussels in large numbers on the sampling plates and trash racks will require more frequent cleaning. As exterior pipe lines start to become colonized and cooling water strainers begin to plug additional cleaning will also be required. If mussel colonization creates on-going operations and maintenance problems, control measures will be needed such as, flushing with 1 04F water (rapid response), installation of filter systems (40 micron absolute) or focusing ultra violet light on the affected areas of pipelines (UV light can provide effective prevention of mussel settlement), and possibly contracting with a vendor for permit acquisition and chemical (chlorine) applications for any necessary immediate control. The usual area for conducting surveys, which began in March 2007, is a location about 20 miles downstream of Willow Beach in Arizona, and four other high-traffic sites along the way toward Cottonwood Cove, Nevada, including Placer Cove and Nelson's Landing. In addition to Stolberg and Biological Science Technician Jon Nelson, other Regional staff members have participated in the Colorado River quagga mussel surveys. This includes Jeff Anderson, Bonnie Contreras, Trish Delrose, and Andrea Montony from the Lower Colorado Region Multi-Species Conservation Program Fisheries Group, and Gerald Hickman and Janet Kirsch from the Resources Management Office (RMO). Marc Maynard, also from RMO will be participating next month. Lake Mead is monitored by technicians from Reclamation's Denver Office, where all collected river water samples are shipped for analysis. See related Regional Report articles at http://intra.lc.usbr.gov/g1000/newslet/2007/070118.pdf, http://intra.lc.usbr.gov/g1 000/newslet/2007/070124.pdf, http://intra.lc.usbr.gov/g 1 000/newslet/2007/0 70202. pdf, http://intra.lc.usbr.gov/g 1 000/newslet/2007/0 70309. pdf, http://intra.lc.usbr.gov/g1 000/newslet/2007/070412.pdf, http://intra.lc.usbr.gov/g1 000/newslet/2007/070621.pdf. The Path Forward While there are still uncertainties about the quagga mussel's behavior in and along the Colorado River, preventive maintenance and long-term mitigation strategies have been implemented.