LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence city officials say new practices significantly reduced the number of invasive zebra mussels in a line that brings water from Clinton Lake to a water treatment plant.
Last spring, workers found a zebra mussel colony that extended 2,000 feet within the pipe. The city voted to buy $80,000 worth of the copper ion generation equipment to control the mussels.
The equipment passes an electrical current through a copper plate, releasing positively charged copper ions that discourage the mussels from attaching to the line’s walls.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports if left unchecked, the mussels can choke off the pipes and require costly repairs.
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Utilities Treatment Manager Steven Craig says the treatment process is going well and no mussels have been found at the plant itself.
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Information from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com