14/09/2022
Why the US Army electrifies this water. The Chicago and Sanitary Ship Canal is the path that invasive carp would take to reach the Great Lakes. So to stop them, the US Army Corps of Engineers has installed electric barriers. The Electric Barriers are operated to deter the inter-basin establishment of Asian carp and other fish via the CSSC by maintaining an electric field in the water. The barriers are one control technology in a broad interagency Asian carp prevention effort. They are formed of steel electrodes that are secured to the bottom of the CSSC. The electrodes are connected to a raceway, consisting of electrical connections to a control building. Equipment in the control building generates direct current (DC) pulses through the electrodes, creating an electric field in the water that discourages fish from crossing. Laboratory and tagged-fish study results show that the electric barriers are an effective fish deterrent.
