It is believed that zebra mussels gained access to Lake Offutt when a boat or boat trailer that had been used on a water body infested with zebra mussels was transported and unloaded into Lake Offutt. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) confirmed the presence of zebra mussels in Lake Offutt in April 2006. This was the first confirmed reproducing population of zebra mussels in the state of Nebraska. The Zebra Mussel Working Group was formed to discuss treatment options and preventative measures and included representatives from government agencies and private stakeholders. Offutt Air Force Base (AFB), in cooperation with the Zebra Mussel Working Group, determined that treating the lake with copper sulfate would be the most feasible treatment method with the greatest potential for successful
eradication.
Offutt AFB contracted URS Group, Inc. (URS) to treat Lake Offutt in an attempt to eradicate zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha). An United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Special Local Need Label was acquired in order to treat the lake with a sufficient concentration of copper sulfate to eradicate zebra mussels (1 part per million [ppm] lake-wide copper concentration). Copper Sulfate was applied in two treatments to Lake Offutt over 30-hour periods on 17 and 18 September 2008 and again on 7 and 8 April 2009. Post application monitoring was performed in four categories: 1) water quality, 2) adult zebra mussels sampling, 3) larval zebra mussels sampling, and 4) fish mortality. Thus far no zebra mussels have been detected in Lake Offutt since the first treatment was applied.