Toxicity of Aqueous Alkaline Solutions to New Zealand Mudsnails, Asian Clams, and Quagga Mussels

We modeled the toxicity response of three important aquatic nuisance species to alkaline solutions of pH 12 to explore the potential use of chemical treatments for decontaminating infested water distribution systems, tanks, and other facilities in confined freshwater environments. Groups of quagga mussels Dreissena bugensis, New Zealand mudsnails Potamopyrgus antipodarum, and Asian clams Corbicula fluminea were tested in temperatures from 19 to 22 degrees C in aqueous solutions adjusted to pH 12 with NaOH. The predicted 99% lethal exposure time (LT99) for adult-sized quagga mussels and New Zealand mudsnails respectively was 31.3 and 35.1 h. Longer exposures were needed to kill adult-sized Asian clams (LT99=208.9 h). Because of the worldwide use of NaOH as an alkaline reagent in a variety of industrial and pesticide applications, and its ease of neutralization with CO2, elevating the pH of freshwater solutions with NaOH may be a practicable management tool to remove nuisance species in biofouled canals, pipes, hatchery tanks, and other confined structures.