Thursday, June 7, 2012

Mill Creek Fish Passage

Patrick Powers — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:50:00 PDT

Mill Creek is a tributary to the Walla Walla River, and flows through the city of Walla Walla, Washington. In the 1930s, after enduring several large floods, the people of Walla Walla, led by Virgil B. Bennington, started a petition for federal funding to build flood control structures to protect the City. Following approval by Congress, President Roosevelt signed the Flood Control Act of 1938 in June of that year. The Act called for two flood control projects to be built by the Corps, the Mill Creek Project and the Mill Creek Channel. The Mill Creek Project includes two dams, a mile of Mill Creek between the dams and a storage reservoir, and surrounding lands. Bennington Dam (or Diversion Dam) at river mile (RM) 11.5 is the uppermost of the two dams. Its purpose is to divert flood flows up to 5000 cfs into the reservoir where the water is stored until it can be safely discharged. The Mill Creek Channel continues downstream from the Division Dam Head Works at RM 10.6, to its end at RM 4.8. The Channel consists of concrete channel-spanning stabilizers and a concrete flume. This concrete flume runs through the City of Walla Walla where it then transitions back to the channel spanning sills. The Mill Creek Channel is owned by the Mill Creek Flood Control Zone District which is directed by the County Commissioners and is responsible for the normal operations and maintenance of the Channel. In 2008 the Tri State Steelheaders Fisheries Enhancement Group, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and other local stakeholders were awarded a Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) Grant to complete a detailed fish passage assessment report. The study identified the complexity of hydraulics and fish passage issues and calculated a percent passage for 12 different reaches. Key to the analysis was the development of a fish passage energetics model which calculates the energy expended by fish attempting to pass through the flood control channel. A preferred design was selected from an alternatives analysis. A 1:8 physical model was then tested in Seattle by Northwest Hydraulics. Features of the model included a roughened channel, plunge pools, resting pools and baffles. Final designs were then completed and three pilot projects were constructed in 2011.

Ecological Monitoring to Evaluate the Benefits of Dam Removal and Passage Efficiency of Fish Ladders

Amy Soli — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:30:00 PDT

Dam removal has gained significant momentum within the past 10 years as a means of stream and wildlife restoration. However, the ecological impacts of dam removal are still an area of active research. Pre- and post-removal monitoring data is of particular value for understanding impacts. Therefore, the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association (Watershed Association) designed a program in coordination with NOAA to monitoring the biological, chemical, and habitat characteristics of the Millstone River before and after dam removal. In addition, researchers at Rutgers University have partnered with NOAA, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the Watershed Association to evaluate migratory fish passage efficiency through a ladder located near the confluence of the Millstone and Raritan Rivers. These monitoring studies are designed to provide in-depth information on the habitat and biota of the Millstone and Raritan Rivers before and after dam removal such that the benefits of dam removal can be quantified and habitat quality protected. The monitoring project focuses on the biological community of the Millstone and Raritan Rivers, especially as it is influenced by habitat and water quality of the rivers. River reaches upstream of dams, within the impoundment, have habitats that differ from those downstream of dams and upstream beyond a damâ€™s influence. Therefore, it is expected that the fish and benthic communities above and below dams will reflect these varying conditions before removal but will become more similar after the removal. In addition, the passage efficiency of migrating fish, most notably shad and river herring, through the fish ladder will be evaluated using passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and an automated antenna/reader system. The effects of these anadromous fishes and their marine derived nutrients on upstream food webs will be evaluated using analysis of stable isotopes of nitrogen in fish and benthic invertebrates. Understanding the ecological changes associated with dam removal on the Raritan and Millstone Rivers will provide guidance on changes that might be expected following future dam removals on low gradient rivers in the mid-Atlantic region.

Session D6 - Modeling fish passage response to instream flows on run-of-river hydroelectric projects

Katie Healey — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:25:00 PDT

Run-of-river hydroelectric projects do not have many of the environmental issues associated with large storage facilities; however, the flow regimes associated with these projects have the potential to delay migration in streams where anadromous fish are present. These projects are typically designed to maximize head (i.e. elevation differences between the intake and powerhouse), and hence the stream reach subject to reduced flows is generally high gradient, consisting of falls, cascades, and chutes that may only be passable by fish at certain flow levels or impassable altogether. If instream flows are released at a fixed magnitude during the migratory period, flows suitable for fish passage at these obstacles may be less frequent or absent altogether, and fish migration can be delayed or obstructed. Pulsed flow releases that vary in magnitude can be an efficient means of providing the flow levels necessary for fish passage. In contrast to storage-type facilities, a fixed schedule for pulse flow releases on run-of-river facilities is not possible, as flow levels must be present naturally in order to be released. Pulse flow regimes must instead be defined by specifying ideal frequency, flow magnitude, and a period over which releases will take place. We present a mechanistic model to assist in the design of these pulse flow regimes; the model predicts how alternate pulse flow design considerations affect fish passage success relative to natural conditions, based on the stream hydrograph and assumed flow conditions for fish to pass obstacles to migration.

Session D6 - Shad and Eel Passage at the Conowingo Project

Kevin McCaffery — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:05:00 PDT

Exelon Generation Company, LLC (Exelon) has initiated with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the process of relicensing the 573-megawatt Conowingo Hydroelectric Project (Conowingo Project) on the Susquehanna River. The current license for the Conowingo Project was issued on August 14, 1980 and expires on September 1, 2014. FERC issued a final study plan determination for the Conowingo Project on February 4, 2010, approving a revised study plan with certain modifications. The final study plan determination required Exelon to conduct studies related to the existing fish lifts and potential American Eel passage measures at the Conowingo Project. The assessment related to the existing fish lifts required the Licensee to conduct an engineering analysis of the remaining life cycle and maximum fish passage capacity of the two existing lifts, determine the costs and logistics of upgrading or replacing the existing fish passage facilities, and to assess the logistics and cost of utilizing one or both lifts as an interim measure to increase fish passage at the project via trap and transport methods. The alternatives evaluated ranged from simple upgrades of gates and drive motors to full replacement of the existing lifts, therefore costs and additional passage potential varied significantly. The fish lift portion of the report presents an operational history of the lifts, current maintenance and operations methods, potential upgrades, modifications, or replacements to the current passage infrastructure based on the agency requests, and associated conceptual level cost opinions and drawings. Where appropriate, estimates are provided for the increased passage capacity of the various options. The final study plan also required the Licensee to conduct biological and engineering Studies of American Eel, which included a literature review of available scientific and commercial eel information, characterizing the local eel abundance via field studies, and examining the engineering feasibility and costs of passage options. For the eel study, conceptual layouts and cost opinions were developed for potential upstream eel passage alternatives. The alternatives ranged from eel passage facilities of limited length with a trap-and-transport program to full-length eel passage facilities that provide the opportunity for full volitional passage to Conowingo Pond. The existing fish lifts were installed primarily to provide a passage route for American shad, an anadromous species. The American eel is a catadromous, panmictic population. These two competing migratory strategies present an interesting challenge for management agencies and the Licensee. This paper presents a summary of the alternative analyses prepared for both species and discusses the implications of attempting to satisfy the proposed restoration goals for both populations.

Session D6 - Menominee Hydroelectric Facility Phase II - Fish Lift System

Lucas Stiles — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:45:00 PDT

Lake sturgeon have been identified as a species of concern in the Great Lakes and their tributaries. As a result, the need for upstream and downstream fish passage at existing hydroelectric facilities has been identified as a measure to reduce habitat fragmentation and restore access to spawning and rearing habitat. The Menominee River has been identified as a key river in restoring lake sturgeon habitat. The Menominee River forms the border between northeaster Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Menominee River is formed at the confluence of the Brule and Michigamme rivers and flows in the southerly direction for 118 miles before joining the waters of Green Bay. The Menominee/Park Mill Hydroelectric Complex consists of the Park Mill Dam and the Menominee Dam which are the first two barriers to upstream passage on the Menominee River. Design of the fish passage facilities at these projects is underway and Kleinschmidt Associates has been retained to perform the final design of Phase II of the project, a new state-of-the-art fish elevator with a trap and transport facility. The new lift will be located in an unused turbine bay and will lift fish from the tailrace of the Menominee project into a sorting tank located on the first floor of the powerhouse. Fish will be sorted by biologists from the state and federal fishery resource agencies to remove invasive species such as sea lamprey, or held for screening and collection of sturgeon gametes. The desired fish will then be transported upstream of the Park Mill project. This presentation will focus on the conceptual design process, agency negotiations, the final design of the new fish elevator, and will discuss the layout of the new trap and transport facility.

Session D6 - Management of migrating European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in Irish rivers used for hydropower generation.

T.Kieran McCarthy — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:25:00 PDT

An extensive decline in European eel stocks, which prompted the European Union to provide a legislative framework (E.U. Regulation No. 1100/2007) for conservation of the species, has been recognised in Ireland for over two decades. In 2008, a National Eel Management Plan (EMP) was adopted which required specific actions to be initiated. Prior to development of the eel management plan, an attempt was made to estimate the current and historical spawner biomass escapement from Irish river systems and this lead to the conclusion that particular eel conservation measures were needed in Ireland. Among the actions specified in the National EMP were: closure of eel fisheries and markets; improvements to eel habitats, including water-quality; reduction in adverse effects of barriers and hydropower generation. Results of research undertaken on migrating eel populations in three Irish river systems (River Lee, River Shannon and River Erne), regulated for hydropower generation, and current eel conservation programmes, will be outlined in this presentation. The stocking of juvenile eels, undertaken since the 1960's for fishery enhancement reasons, has declined due to poor natural recruitment. Therefore the main focus of recent research has been on determining the numbers, biomass and spawner quality of the downstream migrating silver-phase eels. Monitoring of population dynamics and turbine passage mortality rates has involved: analysis of daily and annual catches at eel fishing weirs; mark-recapture experiments; population surveys undertaken using DIDSON acoustic cameras; acoustic telemetry and mathematical modelling. Capture of silver-phase eels for release downstream of dams is currently the main hydropower mitigation measure. In the period 2009-2012, over 135 t were safely released. Options for development of alternative conservation measures, such as deflection to spillways, are being explored. However, spawner quality issues (fat content, parasite infection and maturation status) are of increasing concern.

Session B8 - Susquehanna American Shad Model (SASM) - A tool for evaluating various restoration measures

Tim Brush — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:30:00 PDT

American shad restoration efforts in the Susquehanna River face the obstacle of four hydroelectric dams between the river mouth and suitable riverine spawning habitat, resulting in cumulative attenuation of both adult migration to spawning and outmigration of juveniles. A numerical model was developed to examine the effects of potential restoration measures on the spawning population. Adjustable parameters in the model include upstream and downstream passage rates at each dam, sex ratio, spawning age structure (including repeat spawning), upstream trap and transport, and juvenile stocking. Future recruitment is based on the number of females reaching upstream spawning habitat. Under the assumption that only fish reared upstream will return there to spawn, existing data were used to calibrate the model to a good approximation of adult returns to Conowingo Dam over past thirty years, suggesting that the trends observed over that period are consistent with known numbers for volitional passage, trucked adults, and stocked juveniles. The model will be used to evaluate potential restoration measures.

Session D5 - Downstream Fish Migration Systems and Intake Structure Optimization & Possible Synergies

Carl Robert Kriewitz — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:10:00 PDT

An important aspect of the process of water body restoration deals with the recreation of the flow continuum. This includes enabling the up- and downstream migration of fish, which can be hindered by run-of-river power plants. Currently especially the downstream migration that is vital to the preservation of quite a few European fish species is negatively affected. The introduction of the revised Water Protection Act in January 2011 in Switzerland constitutes that the major damages caused by men to the ecosystem of the Swiss river systems will have to be rectified within the next 20 years. This is going to be a tremendous task for the energy companies and cantons alike. Therefore the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) conducted hydraulic model tests on a water power station at the river Aare planned to supply the natural river arm with an increased residual discharge of 40 m3/s. To facilitate a save downstream fish migration a guidance screen with horizontal bars and a bypass system was tested. Simultaneously the intake structure was optimized for optimal turbine performance and it was found that both processes went hand in hand. The article gives an overview of the hydraulic model and test results will be presented.

Session B8 - Restoration of fish migration at the Afsluitdijk, The Netherlands, a unique challenge

Kees Dorst — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:10:00 PDT

The Netherlands is a low lying country with 2/3 of its area below sea level. The country is protected against the sea by an expanded water defence system consisting of dunes, dikes, dams and storm surge barriers. In the south western part, the province of Zeeland, the coastline was shortened by closing of many estuaries with closure dams during the decades after the 1953 storm surge disaster. Separated marine and fresh water systems were born. Also for safety reasons in the northern part of the country in the former Zuider Sea, a 32 km long closure dam was constructed in 1932: the Afsluitdijk. This dam connects the provinces of North-Holland and Friesland and separates the salt Wadden Sea (an international protected wetland) from the lake IJsselmeer. Nowadays this lake is a very important fresh water reservoir, a source for the preparation of drinking water, which is fed by the river IJssel, a branch of the river Rhine. The surplus of fresh water is drained daily through two large discharge sluices at low tides in the Wadden Sea. During high tides the sluices are closed preventing sea water to enter. Also during very dry summer periods the sluices remain closed for several weeks. It's obvious that this dam is an immense barrier for many migratory fish species. The adults of the strong anadromous counter current swimmers can hardly enter the fresh IJsselmeer due to the very high current velocities in the discharge sluices, already reached several minutes after opening. The anadromous juveniles, together with the katadromous adults are able to reach the Wadden Sea via the open discharge sluices, but during dry periods they have to wait several weeks which might be a problem. Flounder larvae and glass eel want to enter the fresh water at high tides floating in the flood stream (selective tidal transport). Also weak swimmers as smelts and sticklebacks normally use this water movement to enter inland water bodies. At the seaside, just behind the closed discharge sluices huge amounts of fish are gathering, waiting to enter, attracted by the fresh water discharge flow during the previous ebb tide. But it is uncertain if fish are able to stay close to the discharge sluices during the flushing period. And even if fish are able to resist this flow, it is very difficult to create an extra attraction flow in a fish way which can be competitive with the huge discharge flow. The European Water Framework Directive demands an improvement of the ecological quality of water systems. As a result many fish migration routes in The Netherlands have to be restored; also at the Afsluitdijk. This paper describes the ecological demands and design criteria for fish ways at this location as well as several possible solutions to eliminate this fish migration barrier.

Session A8 - The Hudson River American Eel Project: low-cost fish passage through citizen science

Chris Bowser — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:10:00 PDT

The Hudson River Eel Project involves over 200 diverse community members in shared goals and methodologies to study juvenile eels during their migrations from sea to stream. March through May, fyke nets staked in ten tidal tributaries to the Hudson are checked daily by teams of trained citizen-scientists. Since 2008, over twenty thousand eels have been counted, weighed, and released above barriers. Volunteers are trained by state scientists, and very simple data collection and ID sheets have been developed to follow Atlantic States Marine Fisheries protocols and maximize accuracy. Volunteers include a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and ages, from high school students to watershed groups, which cascades into considerable outreach value and public awareness. At most sites, eels are placed above the nearest barrier, dam, or rapids. Last year, we implemented an additional low cost trap-and-pass eel ladder that caught over 1400 eels of various sizes in its first six months of use. Participants answer questions about recruitment along the tidal estuary from urban streams to quiet creeks. Data yield information about the timing and strength of eel migrations, suggest favorable conditions, and help managers prioritize restoration efforts in barrier passage, all in an economic framework that takes advantage of the public's fascination of migratory fish in their own neighborhood.