Navigation Effects on Asian Carp Movement Past Electric Barrier, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

The potential migration of Asian carp through the Illinois River, Des Plaines River, and Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) is one risk facing the Great Lakes. In an effort to mitigate this risk, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has installed a series of electric barriers within the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) to deter fish from using the canal as a pathway to enter the Great Lakes. Commercial tows operating within the CSSC produce a number of residual currents and forces that could potentially transport stunned fish across the barrier. The USACE Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL), was tasked by U.S. Army Engineer District, Chicago (LRC), to investigate barge/tow effects on the transport of Asian carp through the CSSC.