A Chemical-Free Approach to Controlling Invasive Golden Mussels in California Hydropower Cooling Systems

The invasive golden mussel is spreading through the California State Water Project and the federally managed Central Valley Project, and it threatens cooling water infrastructure at hydropower stations throughout both systems. One California county has already declared a state of emergency to unlock federal funding. For plants drawing from infested water, the exposure is immediate: motor cooling, bearings, seals and HVAC systems fail quickly once mussels establish. 

Copper-based treatment is the fast, easy answer, and that is part of the problem. Where multiple dischargers feed copper into the same source water, combined concentrations can exceed federal limits, and copper bioaccumulates in fish and aquatic life. In California's regulatory environment, several stations wanted another path. 

This session covers the alternative those facilities chose: hydro optic disinfection medium pressure UV (HOD MP UV), an engineered, chemical-free approach now being installed at multiple California power facilities to protect cooling water assets. The presentation walks through the technology, implementation and results to date along the State Water Project and other river systems. 

Mussel pressure is a Western water story that is not staying in California. Operators on any raw water cooling source will recognize the problem, and the tradeoffs, before the mussels arrive.