Biologists Say Mussels Indicate Health Of Clinch River

CLEVELAND, Va. – After 30 years of conservation work on the Clinch River, the water quality is improving, biologists surveying the river’s creatures said Wednesday.

The researchers, who represent state and federal agencies as well as the Nature Conservancy, were counting rare mussel species that have drawn national attention to the Clinch as one of the nation’s most biologically diverse rivers.

“They’re doing really well,” said Jess Jones, restoration biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The populations are increasing.”

Jones said the survey, which is done about every five years, looks at two major factors: the number of species and the number of organisms present within each species. He said the site on Cleveland Islands has been monitored since 1979, with a steady increase in mussel diversity and abundance.

“That’s a nice indicator that the water quality in this part of the river is improving,” Jones said.

David Whitehurst, director of the wildlife diversity division of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said it’s a positive sign not only for the river’s aquatic life but also for humans who live nearby.

“Having healthy streams means there’s good water quality for human consumption, there’s good water quality for human recreation, so there are a lot of values associated with having good, healthy ecosystems,” Whitehurst said.

“If you don’t have healthy ecosystems, you won’t have clean air, you won’t have clean water, you won’t have good recreational opportunities,” he said.

Whitehurst said efforts to improve and protect the state’s natural resources – particularly its biodiversity here – have come a long way in 30 years, but they still have a long way to go.

Other parts of the river aren’t doing as well, Jones said, particularly the stretch of river downstream of St. Paul.

A spot that is “in the early stage of recovery,” however, is the area just downstream of the power plant at Carbo, where U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Shane Hanlon said a mid-1990s upgrade at the plant had a positive effect on aquatic life.

He said the plant, also the site of two toxic river spills decades ago, was using copper pipes, a common material that happens to be toxic to mussels. Since changes were made, the mussels have returned, and now their population is on the rebound.

Jones said while the power plant spills had a drastic effect on aquatic life when they occurred, no one factor has been responsible for the decline of water quality in the upper part of the river.

Rather, he said it was an accumulation of “run of the mill” pollutants – wastewater, agricultural runoff and small chemical spills from other sources.

The net effect of many small pollution sources hit the river’s critters hard, and perhaps a dozen species were lost altogether. But, Jones said improvements over the last three decades that have reduced the pollutants have had a positive impact.

“All the small towns – Richlands, Cedar Bluff, Tazewell – most of the houses are on a main [sewer] line, so that water is collected, and it’s going to a treatment facility,” Jones said, adding that improved land management practices over the past 30 years have reduced pollution from agriculture.

Also, the mussels that are now present in growing numbers help to filter the water, he said.

“There is no magic bullet in terms of just one thing,” said Hanlon.

Added Braven Beaty, an ecologist for the Nature Conservancy: “There’s a lot of conservation effort here.”

It’s a slow process, the biologists said, but it’s showing results.

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