Demonstrating the Power of Mussels for Cleaning Pennsylvania's Waterways

Take a look at the timelapse video to see for yourself freshwater mussels’ power in filtering pollutants, sediments, and algae, benefiting other aquatic species and improving overall waterway health.
The Union City Aquatic Conservation Center initiatives have translocated thousands of mussels and created environments for raising new populations. Our partners, local, state and federal, are essential to the success of our projects. In this demonstration, each tank is filled with 10 gallons of water, and equal parts algae and muck. See how the 15 mussels in the left tank clear the water after just 7 hours.