Eight zebra mussels, aka the roaches of the sea, have been found in Maryland and that could be bad. Very, very bad, according to a report in The Washington Post.
The invasive freshwater mussels caused about $5 billion in damage to the Great Lakes, after being accidentally brought there from Eastern European ships. And now they are poised to do similar damage to the DC area.
They "vex everything that uses the water: their sharp shells cut swimmers feet and damage boats, while power plants and water treatment plants usually need to spend a whole bunch of money to clear them from pipes," DCist reports.
And just like roaches in the District, zebra mussels are almost impossible to get rid of once they're in the water.
The Maryland mussels apparently came from "a recreational fishing boat that was plopped...into"the fresh waters of the Susquehanna River above Conowingo Dam."
In other words, the Conowingo Dam, which produces hundreds of megawatts of electricity for 13 states, including Maryland and Virginia, as well as the District , could be the first to go if the mussel population gets out of control.
So what can we do? As an associate director at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources notes to the Post: "You prevent the spread for as long as you can, and then you just suck it up."
