A west suburban forest preserve is dispatching an army of freshwater mussels this spring to clean up contaminated waters.
Over the next six months, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County will place 9,000 mussels along 13 miles of the west branch of the DuPage River.
Mussels’ ability to remove large quantities of contaminants from waterways was detailed in 2014 by a team of researchers at Stanford University.
“Because mussels often live en masse, together they can filter enough water to lower overall water pollution levels.” Mussels will be placed at 11 locations along the river in Warrenville and Naperville.
The animals play crucial roles in the health of aquatic habitats in urban waterways but are among the most endangered group of wildlife in North America.
Man-made changes to rivers over the past 100 years have damaged mussels’ preferred sand-gravel habitats, according to the district.
As a result, 213 of the 297 known species of native freshwater mussels in the U.S. are classified as endangered, threatened or species of special concern at the federal or state level.
At the research center, the district monitors DuPage County’s streams and conducts research on water quality and aquatic species.
Follow Alex Ruppenthal on Twitter: @arupp Related stories: March 21: The tale of the Western pond turtle was one of several success stories shared with donors Monday evening at a Shedd Aquarium event focused on conservation efforts nationwide.
May 4, 2016: How local forest preserves are using fire to maintain the Chicago area’s natural ecosystem, much like Native Americans did prior to European settlement.