Surveys conducted late last year suggest that zebra mussels continued to expand their foothold in the lower Susquehanna River, highlighting the need for boaters to be careful not to spread the invaders. The bivalves were spotted at a marina above Conowingo Dam in 2008, and have since slowly expanded their range.
They turned up below the dam in 2010, and in recent years small numbers have been found attached to buoys near Havre de Grace at the river’s mouth. In 2011, one turned up in the nearby Sassafras River.
Last year, veligers — larval zebra mussels — were found in the Harford County Water Treatment Plant in Havre de Grace, indicating that a breeding population has been established below Conowingo.
Biologists believe a reproducing population also exists someplace in the Susquehanna above the Pennsylvania state line. Weekly monitoring near the water intake of the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, just above the border, has generally seen a growing number of veligers since 2009, though observed numbers declined somewhat in 2013.
Ron Klauda, a biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, said it’s hard to predict whether the population will grow to damaging levels.
He said he doubts the lower Susquehanna is prime zebra mussel habitat — they typically do better in lakes and reservoirs than rivers, though there are exceptions. “But they probably can hang on,” Klauda said. “We just hope that they don’t ever start to really flourish and expand to nuisance levels.”
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