The design of the project will have an overall positive impact on available mussel habitat areas. The project is anticipated to have a positive impact on mussel species and mussel habitat, meaning that more mussels could eventually occupy this reach of the river someday. Impacts to mussels from both a design perspective and construction impact perspective have been thoroughly evaluated and reduced to the greatest extent possible. 

• Construction of the project will result in some direct impact to mussels and has been reduced to the greatest extent possible.

• A substantial mussel relocation effort occurred in the summer of 2024. A project area of 45,000 square meters, roughly the size of eight football fields, was searched and 9,040 mussels were relocated to other suitable habitat areas in the Grand River. This includes 6,933 common mussel species, 2,069 state listed species, and 38 federally endangered species. 

It is not feasible to remove every single mussel within the project area due to high velocities and dangerous hydraulics created by the existing dams. Therefore, a mussel mitigation fund will be established to mitigate the loss of state and federally listed species. The purpose of the fund will be to support monitoring and conservation measures that significantly benefit state and federally listed mussels species after completion of the Lower Reach Project.