Everyone's using the wrong pump speed for fine silt in the Columbia River

I keep seeing crews run their pumps at max rpm trying to clear fine silt near Portland, but that just churns it up and makes the water cloudy for miles. We did a test run last fall, dropping to 60% speed, and our sediment capture rate went up by 30% while our fuel use dropped. Has anyone else tried a slower pump setting in similar conditions and seen better results?

2 comments

2 Comments

david_craig7d ago

Ever notice how often we just crank things to the max thinking it'll work better? It's like blasting the hose in a muddy puddle, you just make a bigger mess. Your test makes total sense. Slowing down lets the system actually catch the silt instead of fighting it. I see this everywhere, from people revving a cold engine to over-stirring cake batter. Sometimes the best fix is just to ease off.

kelly.emma7d ago

Wait, you stir cake batter too?