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Enzyme shows promise in fighting Twin Ports freshwater corrosion problems
Researchers have found evidence of accelerated corrosion not just in the harbor but upstream in the St. Louis River and in other inland waters of the Northland. Written By: Peter Passi | ×
Low water on Lake Superior reveals extensive corrosion of CN s ore docks in Duluth. (Clint Austin / 2017 file / News Tribune)
When Marie Zhuikov pulled her dock out of Wilson Lake for the winter, she found the steel members of the structure encrusted with the same kind of tubercles that have caused so much corrosion damage throughout the Duluth harbor basin. As a senior science communicator for the Wisconsin Sea Grant, Zhuikov knows a thing or two about the subject and showed photos of the dock located near Cotton to colleagues who confirmed her suspicions.
Wilson Lake corroded dock post (credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant)
DULUTH, MN (KDAL) – According to recent research, steel structures in inland lakes and rivers in northern Minnesota are seeing similar corrosion as was documented in the Duluth-Superior harbor.
The corrosion of steel pilings was first noted in the Twin Ports harbor in 1998. Research funded by the Minnesota and Wisconsin Sea Grant programs identified microbes that interacted with water and steel as the cause of the corrosion that leaves pockmarks and holes in underwater steel structures.
Although initially thought the issue was specific to Lake Superior, the problem has become widespread with gates on the St. Louis River and docks on Fish Lake, Island Lake, Grand Lake and others showing bio-corrosion.