Lake Michigan Diversion for Water Quality Control

Water diverted from the Lake Michigan Watershed to the Mississippi River Watershed includes, among others, water diverted directly into the Chicago River and Canal System. The direct diversions take place at three locations which regulate the flowrates for the purposes of navigation, flood control, and water quality management. An optimization procedure is presented which aids in the management of the system by determining average monthly diversion rates at each of the three control points. The procedure utilizes an efficient network algorithm which determines the minimum diversion necessary to maintain water quality standards in the River and Canal System. Results are reported for existing conditions as well as conditions after 10 instream aeration stations are in operation.