300 cubic yards of Zebra Mussels Removed from Sucker Lake Channel

This Fall, the St. Paul Regional Water Service (SPRWS) cleaned 300 cubic yards of zebra mussel shells from the Sucker Lake Channel. These shells has accumulated through the chain of lakes (Charley-Pleasant-Sucker-East Vadnais) that the SPRWS manages. The lakes receive water from the Mississippi River which is pumped through the chain, ending at East Vadnais Lake. This is the drinking water reservoir for the City of St. Paul and surrounding suburbs. Zebra mussels were found in the chain of lakes approximately 5 years ago and this is the first time that the channel has had to go through the removal process. The shells are vacuumed into a truck which pulverizes them and sends the water back into the channel. Those shells are then used as an ingredient in fertilizer. We will continue to monitor the accumulation to see how often this removal process will need to occur.

Want to read more? Learn about  VLAWMO's plan to restore the channel of  Sucker Lake in 2015-2016.

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