Alberta has implemented stricter regulations, higher penalties, and even employed mussel-detecting dogs to prevent invasive species from entering the province’s water bodies. Officials are now urging boat owners to use a new roadside dip tank to expedite mandatory inspections at provincial entry points.
According to Alberta Environment Minister Grant Hunter, prevention is key in safeguarding waterways. The dip tank, costing $1.2 million and situated at Dunmore, Alta., resembles a standard boat launch and is located at a commercial truck weigh station for inspections.
Boat owners can back their watercraft into the tank, activate the motor, and flush out any tanks with heated, chemical-free water above 40°C. This process, supervised by decontamination specialist Bill Fisher, efficiently eliminates any potential mussel traces in the intricate boat systems.
Previously, inspectors had to manually inspect and flush tanks for ballast or bait one by one using a pressure washer. Fisher emphasized that the time and water savings with the new tank will be significant, ensuring a thorough decontamination process.
The province of Alberta has intensified efforts to prevent the spread of mussels, with fines for bypassing inspection stations raised to $4,200 in 2024 from $324. Alberta dedicates approximately $10 million annually to its inspection and prevention program to avoid issues experienced in other regions of North America.
Invasive mussels like zebra and quagga mussels are commonly transmitted by traveling watercraft and can rapidly proliferate, causing damage to beaches and obstructing pipes and water intakes. Alberta’s irrigation districts strongly support initiatives to protect their intricate systems from the threat of mussels.
Richard Phillips, chair of the Alberta Irrigation Districts Association, emphasized the importance of ensuring boats are “clean, drained, and dry” before transport due to the potential microscopic larvae present in even minimal amounts of water.
The new tank system in Alberta, designed to eradicate invasive organisms with hot water, is based on technology already in use in Utah. Garrett Atwood, from Clean Wake in Utah, highlighted the system’s effectiveness in removing droplets missed during traditional inspections.
In 2025, Alberta conducted around 20,000 boat inspections, uncovering 13 contamination cases, with all eight incidents this summer detected at the Dunmore station. The success of the tank at Dunmore has prompted officials to consider its implementation at the province’s other 11 boat inspection stations.
Additionally, Alberta is exploring the development of a mobile tank system in collaboration with academics and water groups in British Columbia to enhance inspection efficiency further.