Send this page to someone via emailResearchers spent Tuesday waist-deep in streams near Okanagan Falls, searching for one of the smallest indicators of river health — mussels. View image in full screen Zoe Eyjolfson, Fluvial Geomorphologist, explains that a high mussel count is a positive indicator of water quality because mussels filter particles from the water. Cohan Sassaman“Mussels are an indicator of water quality, so we are looking to put in more habitat that the mussels like,” said geomorphologist Zoe Eyjolfson. And it’s not just Western data, it’s also our Syilx community members who are telling us that we are in a severe drought,” Welch said. For the researchers in the water, every measurement collected today is another piece of evidence that could help shape a healthier Okanagan watershed for generations to come.