Aeration Characteristics of Flow Release Controls on Illinois Waterway Dams

摘要

The main stem of the Illinois Waterway, from Grafton at its confluence with the Mississippi River to Lockport below Chicago, consists of seven navigation locks and dams and attendant navigation pools. Each pool has historically experienced dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations that fall below Illinois EPA water quality standards. The levels to which the DO falls in the pools are greatly influenced by the aerating characteristics of the dams that form the pools. These aeration characteristics were studied to calibrate the dams with the British weir equation as a model, and to evaluate the effects of increased Lake Michigan diversion water on the dam aeration characteristics. The dam aeration coefficients derived varied significantly within a dam, depending on operation mode, and varied greatly between dams.