Charles River Lower Basin Artificial Destratification Project

摘要

The Charles River Basin which was created by construction of a dam in 1910 has been stratified since that time with salt water intruding from Boston Harbor through a boat lock and leaky sluices. In order to eliminate nuisance conditions and fish kills caused by hydrogen sulfide from the anoxic bottom water, destratification by air-mixing was initiated in the spring of 1978. Six diffusers were installed on the bottom in the deep sections of the Basin and operated as necessary to induce sufficient circulation to maintain a minimum of 4.0 mg/1 dissolved oxygen throughout the water column. After two and a half years of operation hydrogen sulfide has been eliminated and water quality has generally improved in the area of the Basin influenced by the diffusers.