POA Members:

You may recall our reporting from last year that DNR undertook a pilot Zebra Mussel Monitoring project from May 2018 – October 2018.  This project was funded with the help of the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation and Brookfield Power. The project consisted of water quality monitoring to determine the suitability of the lake for zebra mussel colonization as well as visual monitoring in an effort to determine the presence of the species in the lake. The following bullets come directly from the report and summarize the findings. 

“Results of the 2018 effort found the following:

• Temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and pH are within or near the

preferred zebra mussel habitat range in the lake.

• Overall, Deep Creek Lake is thought to be at low risk for zebra mussel colonization

due to low calcium and water hardness concentrations in the lake, as these factors are

important for zebra mussel growth, reproduction and survival.

• No zebra mussels were found in the lake, at any location, during any of the 2018

visual surveys suggesting the species is not currently present in Deep Creek Lake.

• The 2018 monitoring effort should be continued in 2019 and 2020 to account for

inter- annual variability in temperature and precipitation, which can affect water

quality.

• Visual surveys should continue at a similar frequency, as in 2018, to ensure that

no populations of zebra mussels exist in Deep Creek Lake.

• Additional monitoring, such as random dock surveys, as well as eDNA studies should

be considered if determined to be appropriate and resource feasible.”

Click here to view the full report.  Many thanks to the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation and Brookfield Power for partnering with DNR to conduct this important project.  

Best Regards,

Paul Weiler

President

Property Owners' Association of Deep Creek Lake, PO Box 618, McHenry MD 21541

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