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Probably a good reason the Charles River is suddenly sudsy
By adamg on Thu, 09/08/2016 - 10:14am
.@universalhub Anyone know what's happening at the Charlestown water locks? Closed to pedestrians & full of ...suds? pic.twitter.com/IKdBiQzhOT
— Steph Bianchi (@Stephington) September 8, 2016
Steph Bianchi reports the Charles River locks are closed to pedestrians this morning and the water full of what looked like suds.
DCR explains:
Today between 9:00AM and 10:00AM, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) exercised the New Charles River Dam Pump Station’s #4 and #5 pumps at a low speed.
The exercising of the pumps is a common occurrence at this facility, and has nothing to do with the pedestrian walkway over the locks being closed (the closure of the pedestrian walkway is necessary for general maintenance purposes).
The accumulation of “suds” is a naturally occurring phenomenon resulting from the biological constituents within the water being aerated when the water goes through the pumps.
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Comments
Brew the Charles!
I didn't know I should be taking the name of this event seriously...
https://hubweek.org/events/brew-the-charles/
How dry we are!
Remnants of Hermine (not a goth band) have washed quite a bit of phosphate and other nutrients into the river and sent them down stream. These come from fertilizers, mostly, but some are from detergents.
While there was not enough rain to help us with the drought, there was enough to restore flow over the dam in Waltham for the first time in a couple of weeks, adding to the load of frothy things.
This stuff has been building up on land because of the drought, so it is concentrated.
Oh so erroneous.
DCR comes in and blows your suds out of the water. Nothing to do with fertilizer and Hermine.
Oh, so smug
Did you rub your hands in glee before you started typing?
It isn't wrong
That's where the foam comes from. The pump just stirs it up.
Put detergent in your blender = foam
Put detergent in your washer = foam
Flunk chemistry much?
You may want to check out the Charles River Watershed Association testing page and actually learn something.
Yes
Yes you are.
The pump won't foam pure water like that.
Dear Ignorant Anon
I was already aware that they were exercising the pumps. They do this often. I asked the DEP people about it at this morning's meeting since I saw the foam when I biked in.
The VOLUME of foam is due to the nutrient loading due to reasons already described. This practice does not usually generate so much foam that it is so very noticeable.
Now go do your earth science homework. You don't want to flunk eighth grade again!
UPDATE: The Charles River Watershed Association info on a cyanobacteria outbreak in the Lower Charles that is also related to this enriched runoff situation.
slip slidin' away.
That's a delicate dance, perfessor.
Rubs hands together in glee..
Rubs hands together in glee.....
Glee
Is that an all-natural soap (with negative commentary by Lady MacBeth written all over it) or a detergent?
New Uhub meme?
I hope this becomes the new "Adorable"....
DCR checks in
I've added their explanation to the original post.
Sounds like Delta House struck again...
Who dropped a whole truckload of fizzies into the varsity swim meet? Who delivered the medical school cadavers to the alumni dinner? Every Halloween, the trees are filled with underwear. Every spring, the toilets explode.