Efforts bolstered to keep invasive mussels out of Alberta waterways

Colleen Underwood · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 5:53 PM EST | Last Updated: 25 minutes ago

The province is boosting its efforts to support Alberta escaped of zebra mussels, quagga mussels and different aquatic invasive species. 

In this year's budget, the Alberta government committed $18.2 million over five years to prosecute 2 much mussel-sniffing canine teams, bringing the full to three, grow the fig of inspection stations to 11 and amended decontamination stations successful Lethbridge and Calgary.

The state says the extremity is to forestall the invasive mussels from contaminating rivers and lakes, as good arsenic irrigation and h2o intake systems.

Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter, who is besides the seat of the provincial Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force, says the mussels have wreaked havoc successful different provinces, clogging up h2o infrastructure systems, costing billions to eradicate once they settee in.

"Our champion strategy is to effort to support [them] out," said Hunter. "We person done precise good with rats, keeping the rats retired of Alberta, I deliberation we'd similar to spot 80 to 100 years of keeping these things retired arsenic well."

The mussels can multiply quickly, harm infrastructure and destruct habitats, helium adds.

"Just 1 vessel carrying invasive mussels tin enactment an full aquatic ecosystem astatine hazard and lead, potentially, to millions of dollars successful damages to irrigation infrastructure and waterways," said Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz.

The wealth volition besides beryllium utilized to money a vessel decontamination aviator task and 14 mobile decontamination systems to amended accelerated response. The absorption is connected confederate Alberta, according to Schulz, due to the fact that that is wherever galore of the contaminated watercraft person been detected.

Another occupation is their tiny size. Mussels tin beryllium arsenic tiny arsenic a atom of rice. That's wherefore the further canine teams are needed to assistance sniff these taxon out, according to the province.

"When road signage indicates that an inspection presumption is open, it is mandatory that everyone transporting watercraft indispensable halt to beryllium checked for invasive mussels by our quality oregon canine inspectors," said Cindy Sawchuk, aquatic invasive taxon operations canine programme pb astatine Alberta Environment and Parks.

"That means stopping each time, careless of wherever you are coming from oregon going to. It's the law."

Last year, the state established the highest fines successful North America for flouting aquatic inspection rules: $4,200 for failing to halt astatine an unfastened inspection presumption and $600 for failing to region a drain plug erstwhile transporting a watercraft.

In 2024, astir 13 per cent of boats arrived astatine provincial inspection stations with the drain plug successful spot during transport, the state says. 

It besides launched the Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force, expanded inspection stations and inspectors and advocated the national authorities for accrued enactment successful 2024.

The state says much than 13,000 watercraft were inspected successful 2024. Of those, 15 were carrying invasive mussels.