SLAPY, Czech Republic, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Low water levels on the Czech Republic’s Vltava River have exposed hundreds of thousands of freshwater mussels, and environmental groups and volunteers are racing to move them to deeper waters.
The Slapy dam, upstream from Prague, was forced to reduce its water level to record lows to maintain flows downstream, so people rushed to rescue the protected mussels from the newly exposed banks.
“This is the last place on the Vltava where the mussels are plentiful, including rare species,” said volunteer Petr Styblo, 60.
“The water level will go down further, as there is still drought, so we are trying to save what we can. It would be a pity to lose the wildlife at Slapy.”
Mussels act as important filters for the water, keeping rivers and streams clean.
“We need people to help, we cannot manage it ourselves, there are hundreds of thousands of mussels under threat and the banks are huge.”
A severe drought has hit the Czech Republic this year, emptying major dams on the Vltava, damaging harvests and drying up many streams and wells.
This is the first time the Slapy dam, a favourite recreation area south of the capital, has been used to manage water levels on the Vltava. The largest reservoir on the river, the Orlik dam, has already been emptied.
(Reporting by Eva Korinkova, writing by Jan Lopatka; editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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