In an era of increasingly sophisticated technology, two treatment plants on the Mississippi River are experimenting with what might be the original water-quality gauge: mussels.Water departments in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Moline, Illinois, are using native freshwater mussels in pilot programs as early-warning systems to detect possible contamination in the river. The mussels — Actinonaias ligamentina, a small, brown bivalve also known as mucket clams or mucket mussels — clamp their shells shut when they sense contaminants. Researchers believe that reaction could tip off water operators to potential problems with drinking water sources.“It’s nature telling us that there might be something wrong
