Image Credit: SUBMITTED/B.C. Ministry of Environment

If invasive mussels make their way into B.C. it will result in a financial burden of $64 million to $129 million each year, according to a recent report from the provincial government, but the Okanagan Basin Water Board says there are even more costs to be accounted for.

For example, the Potential Economic Impact of Zebra and Quagga Mussels in B.C. report did not consider the costs associated with local fisheries and quality of life, according to a letter the OBWB submitted to B.C.’s Ministeries of Water, Land and Resources and Environment.

“An economic study cannot quantify the impacts to our children and grandchildren who would grow up missing the experience of playing along the beaches and swimming in the lakes free from piles of razor-sharp mussel shells,” the letter reads. “It cannot quantify the harm the mussels will cause to the populations of sockeye and Chinook salmon, that are being restored back from the brink of extinction by the efforts of the Okanagan Nation Alliance and their partners.”

If invasive mussels reach lakes that are used as drinking water sources, that could result in greater costs that were not considered in the report, the letter reads. 

Beyond the financial costs, OBWB executive director Anna Warwick Sears said in a press release that many of the consequences of a mussel infestation can’t be quantified.

“The costs of an infestation are appalling on two levels. The first is the gross costs which will make us all poorer. But more importantly, it makes you think about all we value that can’t be qualified. I love the beaches and the clean water, and I don’t want to lose them,” she added.

The OBWB has been actively trying to protect B.C. lakes for the past decade through the Don’t Move a Mussel campaign. The organization also works in partnership with the Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society to offer outreach. And the province has been running a mussel inspection program since 2015.

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