MHD coal-fired flow facility baseline water-quality study. Woods Reservoir, May 1979-April 1980

Abstract

The Department of Energy (DOE) Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Coal-Fired Flow Facility (CFFF) is located on Woods Reservoir at The University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI). Part of the role of UTSI, as participants in the DOE program, is to document environmental aspects of coal-fired MHD. In early 1979, prior to operation of the CFFF, a water quality program was initiated to establish baseline conditions for the reservoir. The study was designed to provide an accurate assessment of water quality which could be used as a basis for comparison to evaluate the impact, if any, of the plant operation on the aquatic environment. Results of a one year baseline study of water quality on Woods Reservoir are presented in this report. The key findings are that this reservoir is a eutrophic lake. Its predominant ions are calcium and bicarbonate and its pH is circumneutral.