THE infestation of Lough Corrib by the dreaded Zebra Mussle has cut off the water supply to homes in Headford.

At least six homes around Annaghkeen Bay which have been drawing water from the lake have had their water pumps and pipes destroyed by the freshwater bivalve mollusc.

One resident, Zara Brady, said her foot valve has become infested with the mussels, which have colonized the pipes and infiltrated the pressure pump. The damage means she can never again draw water from the Corrib. 
 

“The whole of the foot valve looks like it has been poured with concrete. The two inch thick pipe is solid with them and there is a total encrustation on the pump,” Mrs Brady said. 
 

The infestation is likely to have a similar affect on public and group water schemes operating on the Corrib within a very short period. 
 

“We really have come to the end of an era. Sixty years is a short lifetime to see the water come bubbling and sparkling out of a brand new tap, and then to be an eye witness to the irreversible changes of a lake’s ecology. 
 

“Zebra Mussels have already caused problems to water treatment facilities on the River Shannon. Pipes have been obstructed, water for human consumption has been tainted by the mussels because of the waste they leave behind.” 
 

In 2006 warning signs were erected along lakes in the region urging boat owners to clean their vessels before bringing them to the West in bid to prevent the spread of Zebra Mussels, which had by then colonised much of the Shannon-Erne waterway. 
 

The signs advised boat owners to remove plant life, drain bilge water and to inspect and hot wash their boat every time they changed water to get rid of young mussels, which may not be visible to the naked eye. Boats that had thumbnail-sized adult mussels attached to the hull should be scraped off and the boat left out of water for a month as the organisms can live out of water for 18 days or more. 
 

However the €30,000 signage campaign was in vain as the dreaded mussel was discovered to have infested a substantial area of the lake north of Oughterard. 
 

“Once it’s in, it’s in. There’s very little that can be done once they establish a presence,” mused the Biodiversity Officer for Galway County Council Elaine O’Riordan. 
 

“Once they are scraped off any sort of infrastructure, buoys, moorings, peers, there are seedlings waiting to replace them.” 
 

Inspector with the Western Regional Fisheries Board Kevin Crowley said the mussels have been detected right across the lake, on stones in Galway Bay, as well as in Lough Mask. Their priority now is to prevent it spreading to Lough Cara and other lakes in the region. 
 

There is no law preventing boats from spreading the infestation between lakes. 
 

“I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse. We’ve been looking for legislation to prevent the introduction of all foreign species here but have been unsuccessful.” 
 

While some anglers believe they are beneficial to the water as they improve visibility and fish catchability, because they filter feed and the water becomes crystal clear. Each mussel filters one litre of fresh water, which involves recycling nutrients and plankton out of the water, removing a lot of the food that fish are dependent on. 
 

Prolific breeders, an infestation can see 10,000 present per square metre of water. 
 

They cause toxic algae blooms because they avoid toxic plankton. Because the water appears clearer, more sunlight penetrates through, encouraging the growth of a lot more weeds. 
 

Zebra Mussels, originally from Russia, were first detected in Lough Derg on the Lower Shannon in 1997 although it is believed that they arrived there around 1994 on second-hand boats that were imported from Great Britain. 
 

Zebra Mussels use byssal threads to attach onto a variety of hard and soft surfaces and are readily transported upstream by boat traffic or overland on boat hulls, on nets and on equipment. They spread naturally downstream with water currents thereby allowing them to colonise lakes and slow-flowing waterways. 
 

In Lough Derg the Zebra mussels have attached themselves to the native mussels, causing them to starve to death because they are unable to open or close. 
 

At the slipway at Annaghkeen at the height of the angling season there are cars with registrations from Clare, Longford, Roscommon, Cavan, Limerick, Leitrim - all launching boats and engines into the Corrib, according to Mrs Brady. 
 

She never saw any that were kept out of the water or even washed. “Six years ago they should have taken serious action, like during the foot and mouth outbreak. They should not have been allowed to take any boats into the great lakes unless they had been steam cleaned and quarantined on land,” she said. 
 

For now the Bradys are getting their water by a connecting pipe from their farm into a local group water scheme. They will have to make more permanent arrangements to ensure their supply into the future.