Attaching themselves to almost any submerged surface, zebra and quagga mussels are wreaking havoc in the Great Lakes region. These pesky critters are an invasive species native to fresh waters in Southern Russia and Ukraine.
The invasive mussels likely found their way to the United States in the 1980s through the ballast water discharged into the Great Lakes by large European ships. Since then, they’ve quickly spread throughout the Great Lakes region and found their way into the rivers of the eastern Mississippi drainage. Despite preventive measures, these zebra and quagga mussels still continue to spread at an alarming rate, and you’ll find them in many other states, including Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California.
These mussels create many negative effects for the Great Lakes’ ecosystems. They incapacitate native mussels by attaching themselves to them, and they filter out algae that other native species require for survival, making it so populations of game and commercial fish have decreased significantly. Not to mention they’re causing power plants to spend exorbitant amounts of money on the removal of mussels in order to unclog their water intakes.
Speaking of water intakes, upstate New York’s city of Lockport depends on the Niagara River for drinking water. This river connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, usually giving the city more than enough clean water to satisfy their needs. However, pumping this water to city residents has become complicated in recent years thanks to millions of invasive zebra mussels.
At this point you might be asking yourself how we can combat these invasive mussel species. Fortunately, 060Bio LLC has come up with a great solution for Great Lakes boaters with their innovative product: the Dock Disk.
Mussel Repellent Technology
060Bio’s revolutionary product Dock Disk is an anti-mussel technology that repels zebra mussels and quagga mussels. This technology can successfully repel mussels away from you boat, slip, and dock on any freshwater lake.
Not only is the Dock Disk an effective way to deal with zebra and quagga mussels, but it is a non-toxic solution as well. Drawing from over a decade of design and research, 060Bio’s product succeeds in creating a mussel-free zone wherever you go.
This patented product is a soft foam disk that is only 7.5 inches in diameter. Once you place it in the water, it creates a 7- to 8-foot radius that’s effective in safely repelling mussels for up to six months.
Plus, you don’t need any kind of energy source. You can simply place the disk in the water and allow the ebb and flow of the lake to do the work for you, letting the ionic exchange keep the mussels away.
Additionally, existing mussels that are alive, present and unattached will leave the area within two or three weeks, and you can bet that mussels looking for a new place to live will steer clear of Dock Disk’s protected area.
Gaining Traction
The 060Bio Dock Disk has made some major strides over the last few years, being granted their first patent in 2016 and then being awarded their second patent last year in 2019. The Dock Disk is used in numerous lakes outside of the Great Lakes region as well.
060Bio has even developed and tested the product for commercial and industrial applications which resulted in the Dock Disk being approved for use by municipal systems. The Lower Colorado River Authority reviewed and approved the use of the Dock Disk in its controlled waters. It’s used in southeastern Texas, Lake Travis and other lakes along the Lower Colorado River.
Scott Lang and Paul Coxe, members of the 060Bio team, also participated in educational seminars in Kansas City, Mo., for the 2019 K.C. Boat and Sport Show and in Nashville, Tenn., at the 2019 Docks Expo where they presented information on the battle against zebra and quagga mussels.
Tried & True
The Dock Disk has been met with great praise from its customers. One such customer is Underwater Service, an industrial diving contractor. The Underwater Service team met with Coxe at an industrial facility in Ohio for the installment of the Dock Disk on a set of intake pump screens. When they arrived at the facility, they saw the zebra mussels were thickly nestled around the intake pumps, making it difficult to get enough water through to supply the plant’s needs. This particular plant had struggled against zebra mussels for years and it never seemed to get better.
Underwater Services dived down to clean the zebra mussels off the intakes for the pumps, and once everything was clean and zebra mussel-free, Coxe gave helped them with specific instructions on installing the mussel repellent Dock Disk to the intake screens.
After six months, Underwater Services went back to the site to find that the Dock Disk had performed spectacularly with no zebra mussels to be found on any of the pump intakes during their dive inspection. They removed the original disk and installed the new one, and they’ve repeated this process twice more since then, always finding the noticeable absence of zebra mussels.
All the intake pumps continue to run well and Underwater Services’ customer hasn’t had any more issues in getting an ample amount of water supply for their needs. Underwater Services expressed how impressed they were with the 060Bio’s Dock Disk. As a dive company, Underwater Services sees plenty of issues caused by zebra mussels and they have seen firsthand that Dock Disk is able to help other industrial facilities dealing with mussel problems.
This tried-and-true product is a lifesaver for Great Lakes boaters battling invasive mussel species. So if you find yourself struggling with zebra and quagga mussels, get your own Dock Disk installed today!
For More Information
060Bio LLC
www.060bio.com/dock-disk
Underwater Services, Ltd.
www.uwsdiving.com
