Gaining time in the fight against the quagga mussel

A new quagga mussel unit at Eawag has been available to assist those responsible since 1 April 2025. In affected lakes, the biomass per square metre is likely to increase by a factor of 9 to 20 over the next 22 years. Filters and heat exchangers can protect infrastructure from mussels attaching themselves. However, this sometimes requires very costly conversions and new construction. “We are talking about costs that are likely to amount to hundreds of millions of Swiss francs for the whole of Switzerland,” says quagga mussel expert Piet Spaak.