How Fish Survive Hydro Turbines
Practical Engineering・15 minutes read
Many large dams in the US were built without fully understanding their impact on river ecosystems, but balancing benefits like flood control and hydroelectric power with environmental concerns remains a challenge. Collaborative efforts between PNNL and dam operators at McNary Dam show promise in developing innovative fish passage systems and technologies to ensure safer infrastructure for migratory fish.
Insights
- Large dams in the US were built without full understanding of their impact on river ecosystems, leading to a constant struggle to balance benefits like flood control and hydroelectric power with environmental concerns.
- Collaborative efforts between research institutions like PNNL and dam operators are crucial in developing innovative solutions, such as fish passage systems with advanced technology like submersible screens and sensors implanted in fish, to ensure the survival and safe migration of species like salmon and lampreys in dam-affected rivers like the Columbia.
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Summary
00:00
"Balancing Benefits and Impacts of Dams"
- Many large dams in the US were constructed before understanding their impact on river ecosystems.
- Benefits of dams include flood control, agriculture, water supply, and hydroelectric power.
- Balancing benefits and environmental impacts of dams is a constant struggle.
- McNary Dam, a hydroelectric dam on the Columbia River, generates nearly a gigawatt of power.
- The dam operates without a large reservoir, maintaining water flow rates.
- Fish passage at McNary Dam is crucial for migratory fish like salmon and lampreys.
- Fish ladders and bypass systems help fish navigate the dam safely.
- Submersible screens divert juvenile fish from turbines, ensuring their safe passage.
- PNNL conducts research on fish survivability through sensor fish technology.
- Collaboration between PNNL and dam operators leads to safer infrastructure for fish passage.
15:51
Innovative Fish Passage Systems in Hydropower
- Over 98% of fish survived passing through new turbines designed to reduce injury for juveniles, with most large hydropower dams in the Columbia river system set to have them installed in the future.
- Researchers are working on various improvements to help fish navigate structures, including innovative coatings to reduce biological buildup, new turbine operation methods to minimize impacts, and the development of sensors implanted in fish for tracking purposes.
- PNNL has created tiny acoustic sensors implanted in fish to track their movements accurately, ensuring they behave naturally and heal quickly after insertion, with fish-powered generators to sustain the sensors for long-term studies.
- The balancing act between environmental, economic, and cultural factors in hydropower engineering is crucial, requiring collaboration among various experts to ensure responsible resource management, as seen in the well-designed fish passage systems at McNary.
