By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald Boating season is quickly approaching and Alberta’s government is strengthening its defences against invasive mussel species to protect lakes, rivers and critical infrastructure. Invasive mussels including quagga, zebra and golden mussels destroy ecosystems, threaten shorelines and can cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. One female mussel can open up and release one million eggs, which can quickly lead to an infestation.These mussels also attach themselves on hard surfaces and rapidly accumulate in layers to the point where they can begin clogging things like the intakes to irrigation pipelines, intakes to the canals and the reservoirs. If mussels were to invade irrigation canals, Richard Phillips, chair of Alberta Irrigation Districts Association says it would have devastating consequences on the farmers…
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