Ballast Water, And My Solution!

By Chantel O.

Father Clair Tipping Elementary School
Brampton

In 1985 or 1986, ballast water from a European freight accidently brought zebra mussels into the Great Lakes. This was a big problem. When a ship needs to move to it's next port, it gathers water. This water becomes know as ballast water. Once it has reached it's port, the ship needs to pump out all of the ballast water. However, it's not just water that ships are pumping out,they were also pumping out living organisms! This would mean that organisms that were never supposed to be in that body of water, are now there. Zebra mussels reduce the food supply that is available to fish, by feeding on plankton. They clog water intake pipes. Which means, if a small amount of water is entering the pipe, then there is only a small amount for us to use. Zebra mussels do not belong in Canadian water. Many people have tried solutions, but they would harm the other organisms in the water, or it would be very expensive or it wouldn't work! My solution is different, it's not expensive, it works and most importantly, it doesn't harm other organisms! My solution is a low-energy radio waves generator!

First, what is zebra mussels? Well, zebra mussels are small, freshwater bivalve mollusks (relatives to clams and oysters) that are triangular in shape with an obvious ridge between the side and bottom. Bivalve means, they have two shells or valves. They have a right and left valve. Zebra mussel's got their name from the black or dark brown and white striped markings that appear on its shell. The shell is tan or beige with zig zag stripes. The scientific name for zebra mussels is "Dreissena Polymorpha". Zebra mussels' average in size is about one inch. Two inches in the maximum size for a zebra mussel. Zebra mussels live for about four to five years. Zebra mussels are primarily algae feeders. They feed by filtering the water through a siphon, up to a litre per day. They like intake pipes for this reason. There is constantly a supply of water and food flowing by intake pipes.

One of the most well documented impacts is on our native mussels. Zebra mussels are anchoring themselves by the thousands to native mussels making it impossible for the native mussel to function. As many as 10,000 zebra mussels have attached to a single native mussel. Our natives have all but disappeared in Lake St.Clair and the western basin of Lake Erie. Zebra mussels also are filtering the Great Lakes at an amazing rate, making the lake very clear. Most people assume that this increased visibility in the water must mean the water is "cleaner". Not true. All they have done is filter out all the algae which normally would be food for native microscopic organisms.

Ships need ballast water, to provide stability during a voyage. Water is taken on at one port, when cargo is unloaded and usually discharged, at another port when the ship recieves cargo. Since organisms with all different sizes are living in the surrounding water, they are taken aboard with the ballast water. The living organisms are then dumped out into a body of water, where they don't belong. They are then called "bioinvaders" or "exotic species". This is where zebra mussels came from. For example: Port A gets all the water the ship needs to go to Port B, then dumps all the ballast water in Port B. Now Port B is contaminated with zebra mussels and other organisms that aren't supposed to be there. This is very dangerous to the ecosystem.

Low-energy radio waves zap zebra mussels, until they are forced to surrender there minerals, such as calcium, which is needed to maintain their shelter. Zebra mussels absorb about 1 litre of water per day, therefore the zebra mussels absorb large amounts of nutrients, heavy metals and toxins that are inside the water. If any sea creature eats a zebra mussel, they will contain the zebra mussel's toxins, which will be followed up the food chain. Zebra mussels leave few nutrients for other organisms, such as, crabs, crayfish and other species. Zebra mussels lay their eggs near electric generating intake pipes. They grow to about the size of a lima bean. This can clog up the intake pipes and make them unusable.

I believe that my solution, which is the low-energy radio waves, is a good solution to get rid of the zebra mussels because, zapping the zebra mussels near any pipes, it takes their minerals and nutrients and within 40 days, the zebra mussels will die. This will stop zebra mussels from ever coming near any intake pipes again. Also, by using my solution, the old fish from the lakes will come back again, because the zebra mussels will be gone. Also, by using low-energy radio waves inside a ship, you can clean all the zebra mussels so that this incident doesn't happen again. With my solution, all Canadian ports will have control of their ballast water, which means no jobs wll be lost and consumers and exporters won't have to pay more than they already do. This solution can solve everyone's problems with the zebra mussels.

If I were to experiment my solution and put 1,000 zebra mussels into a large fish tank to a low-energy radio waves generator placed a meter away, they would all die within 40 days. If I were to put fish, crabs, crayfish... etc in the fish tank with the zebra mussels inside, the crabs and crayfishes would hardly be affected and the fish wouldn't be affected at all. With this solution, it will not harm any organism, except for zebra mussels. The ecosystem can go back to the way it was!

We might not be able to kill or get the zebra mussels out of the Great Lakes, but we can certainly stop them from clogging up intake pipes, killing other organisms, taking nutrients and minerals, and damaging the environment! We can stop zebra mussels, all you have to do is get a low-energy radio wave generator and the zebra mussels will disappear! Stop the pollution now, get a low-energy radio waves generator! It can help the whole world!