Patent ID: 8523984

Claim:
A water circulation system for drawing water from the depths of a body of water to the surface for exposure to the atmosphere above the surface and creating a circulation pattern in the body of water wherein said system includes a flotation platform extending about a substantially vertical axis, a dish supported adjacent the surface of the body of water, a draft tube depending downwardly from the flotation platform below the dish from an upper portion extending substantially along and about said vertical axis to a lower portion of the draft tube, said lower portion having an inlet to the draft tube and said upper portion having an outlet, and an impeller to draw water from the depths of the body of water into the inlet of the lower portion of the draft tube, up through the draft tube, and out the outlet of the upper portion of the draft tube to the dish with the water from the dish discharging and moving outwardly therefrom substantially about and radially from the vertical axis in an upper flow adjacent the surface of the body of water, and an air stripping arrangement to treat at least a portion of the water in said upper flow discharging outwardly from said dish and to treat at least a portion of the water at a submerged location substantially immediately below said portion of said upper flow, said submerged location extending outwardly substantially adjacent and at least partially about the upper portion of the draft tube, said air stripping arrangement including a plurality of submerged air manifolds extending outwardly of said vertical axis and outwardly from adjacent the upper portion of the draft tube substantially into said submerged location, each air manifold having at least one series of small, discharge holes and being in fluid communication with a source providing pressurized air to each air manifold to drive air from the air manifold out the series of discharge holes to create air bubbles in the water in said submerged location immediately below the portion of upper flow discharging from said dish wherein said air bubbles contact the water in said submerged location and rise to contact the water in said upper flow discharging outwardly from the dish.