Aquatic Invasive Species Control At Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam is located in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression. The dam impounds Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States by volume when full.

Following the spread of Quagga mussels to Lake Mead, Reclamation began a feasibility study in 2007 to identify control options that could protect their facilities (Hoover, Davis, and Parker Dams) while having little to no environmental or ecological impact. Hoover Dam has seventeen cooling water systems for turbines requiring protection from mussels: nine on the Arizona wing and eight on the Nevada wing.