The adverse effects of dreissenid mussels on freshwater systems have led to their ranking as one of the world's most invasive aquatic species.

They build colonies on native unionid clams, reducing their ability to move, feed, and breed, eventually leading to their deaths.

In 2012, the National University of Ireland, Galway, said "the discovery of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in Lough Derg and the lower Shannon region in 1997 has led to considerable concern about the potential ecological and economic damage that this highly invasive aquatic nuisance species can cause.

[25] On June 4, 2014, Canadian conservation authorities announced that a test using liquid fertilizer to kill invasive zebra mussels was successful.

Zebra mussels have become an invasive species in North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Sweden.

They disrupt the ecosystems by monotypic colonization, and damage harbors and waterways, ships and boats, and water-treatment and power plants.

Kerney and Morton described the rapid colonization of Britain by the zebra mussel, first in Cambridgeshire in the 1820s, London in 1824, and in the Union Canal near Edinburgh in 1834.

In the summers of 2023 and 2024, zebra mussels were one contributing factor to a major bloom of toxic cyanobacteria in Lough Neagh, the largest body of freshwater in the United Kingdom.

[47] On 2 March 2021,[48] the US Geological Survey was notified that zebra mussels had been discovered in marimo moss balls, a common aquarium plant, sold in pet stores across North America.

Though it is more difficult to know the extent of the spread at a larger scale, Wesley Daniel, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, says that about 30% of the inventory pulled from shelves were found to contain the zebra mussels.

[49] After working with the USGS, PetSmart[50] and Petco[51] voluntarily recalled their moss balls due to the potential harm zebra mussels could cause to indigenous ecosystems.

[53] That same year, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that live zebra mussels had been found in Pelican Lake.

[59] A common inference made by scientists predicts that the zebra mussel will continue spreading passively, by ship and by pleasure craft, to more rivers in North America.

[citation needed] A major decrease in the concentration of dissolved oxygen was observed in the Seneca River in central New York in the summer of 1993.

Additionally, the Seneca River had significantly less chlorophyll in the water, which is used as a measure of phytoplankton biomass, because of the presence of zebra mussels.

[60] The cost of fighting the pests at power plants and other water-consuming facilities is substantial, but the magnitude of the damages is a matter of some controversy.

According to the Center for Invasive Species Research at the University of California, Riverside,[43] the cost of management of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes alone exceeds $500 million per year.

A more conservative study estimated total economic costs of $267 million for electric-generation and water-treatment facilities in the entire United States from 1989 through 2004.

[61] In a study conducted by the US Department of State in 2009, the total cost of the zebra mussel invasion is estimated at 3.1 billion over the next 10 years.

Zebra mussels do not attach to cupronickel alloys, which can be used to coat intake and discharge grates, navigational buoys, boats, and motors where the species tends to congregate.

[43] Zebra mussels are believed to be the source of deadly avian botulism poisoning that has killed tens of thousands of birds in the Great Lakes since the late 1990s.

[66] They are edible, but since they are so efficient at filtering water, they tend to accumulate pollutants and toxins, so most experts recommend against consuming zebra mussels.

[70] They cleanse the waters of inland lakes, resulting in increased sunlight penetration and growth of native algae at greater depths.

In addition, the formation of a stable biocenosis of zebra mussels in the lake probably caused changes in the spatial structure of the fish community.

[72] Because zebra mussels damage water intakes and other infrastructure, methods such as adding oxidants, flocculants, heat, dewatering, mechanical removal, and pipe coatings are becoming increasingly common.

Another way to rid of the zebra mussels can be to submerge the moss balls in undiluted white vinegar for a minimum of 20 minutes.

[77] After following one of these methods, the USGS urges owners to bag these moss balls before disposing of them in the trash to prevent spread to local water ways and ecosystems.

[78] Even if moss balls infected with zebra mussels are contained in an aquarium, the concern that they could contaminate local waterways is high, especially in regions and states where they have not yet infested.

Aquarium dumping and disposing of unwanted pets is common, according to Eric Fischer with Indiana's Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

[4] A better understanding of the lake's characteristics and identification of the key parameters that deter zebra mussels may pave the way for protecting other aquatic ecosystems from the spreading of this invasive species.