Quagga Mussels are a freshwater dwelling species of mussels that are extremely detrimental to marine life and activities as well as the water itself. While small in nature, the creatures coagulate together and form large blockades that clog pipelines and damage freshwater ecosystems. The mussels were first found in America in the year 1989 and have since infested almost all of the Great Lakes as well as many other bodies of fresh water. They were discovered in Lake Mead in 2007 and have reproduced at an alarming rate with numbers recorded in the trillions as of 2012. Although there is no economically feasible way to completely eliminate the mussels once they have invaded a water source, there are ways to help reduce the infestation.
The issue…show more content… It is costly and extremely inconvenient to counteract the damage done to watercrafts, marine life, and water sources by the mussels. The mussels can invade hydroelectric water plants and potentially contaminate the area’s water source to the point where operations must be halted. There is not much monetary data on the benefits of controlling Quagga infestation so the best analysis to address this environmental issue would be Impact Analysis. This specific analysis weighs the impacts associated with certain routes of action. In regards to the Quagga Mussel infestation of Lake Mead, the impact analysis could be used to determine which route to take when it comes to effectively dealing with the issue at hand. Should consultants be hired to formulate a new strategy plan unique to Lake Mead? Or would a greater impact come from replicating the strategy plan…show more content… The simple demand and supply curve on graph B shows that clean water will become more scarce for the regions using water from Lake Mead and that prices will sky rocket unless government intervention occurs. Graph A shows how imposing a boater tax/fee when entering in to Lake Mead for non-local boaters can help internalize some of the negative externalities that come along with bringing more Quagga Mussels in to the lake as the mussels typically hitch rides on boats coming from lakes on the East coast. Graph C is a water pricing graph we discussed in class but instead of charging consumers for the water they use, the government can charge a set price for a number of visits. As the number of visits they choose increases, so does the price. The pricing will also depend on if it’s peak season or nonpeak season. For summer months pricing groups are higher, for winter months they are lower. This will also help generate funds for controlling
