Stratification and mixing in Lake Elsinore, California: an assessment of axial flow pumps for improving water quality in a shallow eutrophic lake

A 3-year study was conducted to quantify the effectiveness of a destratification system on weakening thermal stratification and increasing dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in Lake Elsinore, California. Biweekly measurements of temperature, DO, and other parameters were made at 14 sites across the lake beginning in July 2003. A destratification system consisting of 20 axial flow pumps fitted with 3 HP electric motors and 1.8m diameter impellers mounted 2m below the water surface was installed in the spring of 2004 and made fully operational in July 2004. An unusually wet winter of 2005 raised the summer mean depth from 3.0m in 2004 to 6.7 m in 2005. This study thus allowed us to quantify the influence of axial flow pump operation on water column properties under shallow water conditions (i.e., before and after axial flow pump installation), and also to compare the effectiveness of the destratification system at two strongly different lake levels. Transparencies increased substantially after the winter storms in 2005 and thermal stability was shown to be strongly dependent upon lake level. Stratification and a large area of anoxic sediments persisted despite pump operation in the summers of 2004 and 2005. Acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements showed that mixing energy was not being efficiently transmitted laterally into the water column.