National Conference on Engineering and Ecohydrology for Fish Passage

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.

Estimation of Turbine passage survival of juvenile American shad, Alosa sapidissima, by different methods for practical application

Paul Heisey — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:50:00 PDT

The impetus for our presentation is primarily three-fold: (1) present survival estimate of juvenile American shad, Alosa sapidissima recaptured and examined after passage through a relatively large Francis turbine (hydraulic capacity > 6,000 cfs) at Conowingo Hydroelectric Station, MD and its implications on restoration of the species to the Susquehanna River, (2) compare fish survival derived from a blade-strike equation, and (3) applicability of using literature based survival estimates for multiple fish size and species without conducting a field study at a hydroelectric project. Limited published data exist on passage survival of juvenile American shad through relatively large Francis units. Survival probability of juvenile American shad (106 to 142 mm total length, average 119 mm) was estimated while passing through an aerated Francis turbine using the HI-Z Tag recapture technique. The experiment utilized 138 hatchery reared juveniles released into the turbine and 76 fish released downstream of the turbine discharge as controls. The turbine passage survival was estimated at 89.9% with 90% (Î± = 0.10) confidence intervals of ± 5.5%. This estimated survival is within the range (83.5-94.7%) of empirically determined (HI-Z Tag) estimates for similar sized Francis units (runner diameter >110 in, buckets 13-17). While blade-strike derived survival estimates generally show a close correspondence, particularly for salmonids, with empirically determined estimates for Kaplan type turbines, it appears that some differences between the two estimates may occur for clupeid passage through Francis turbines. For the tested Francis turbine at Conowingo, the survival estimate from the blade-strike equation was approximately 5% higher than the empirically determined estimate of 89.9%. Blade-strike equation generated survival estimates maybe higher than empirical estimates because they do not account for potentially higher mortality due to the sensitivity of juvenile shad. Across all Francis type turbines, EPRI field estimated survival of small sized fish was 92%, relatively similar to that estimated herein. While the application of published and/or mathematically derived survival estimates to non-studied sites is encouraged and is useful, caution should be exercised to include only field studies with acceptable control mortality (handling, tagging, and recapture). We suggest control mortality be ~20% for clupeids and ~10% for other species. The life stage and sensitivity of a given species also needs to be considered when using mathematically derived estimates.

Barotrauma in Juvenile Salmonids Exposed to Simulated Hydroturbine Passage: pathways, management implications and applications

Richard Brown — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:50:00 PDT

On their seaward migration, juvenile salmonids commonly pass hydroelectric dams. Barotrauma (e.g., swim bladder rupture, hemorrhaging, emboli and exopthalmia) resulting from rapid decompression can be a major source of injury and mortality during turbine passage. The mechanisms of these injuries can be due to expansion of existing bubbles or gases coming out of solution; governed by Boyle's Law and Henry's Law, respectively. It appears that the majority of decompression related injuries observed in juvenile salmonids exposed to simulated turbine passage are due to the expansion of existing bubbles in the fish, particularly the expansion and rupture of the swim bladder. This information is particularly useful for fisheries managers and turbine manufacturers. Reducing the rate of swim bladder ruptures by reducing the frequency of occurrence and severity of rapid decompression during hydroturbine passage could reduce the rates of injury and mortality for hydroturbine passed juvenile salmonids. However, there is little information about how other species, with varying physiological and morphological characteristics (e.g., type of swim bladder), will be influenced by changes in pressure. The implications for fisheries management, hydro management and development and broadening the range of understanding of barotrauma in both salmonids and non-salmonid species will be presented.

Pawtuxet Falls Restoration: Lessons from Narragansett Bay's Largest Dam Removal

Andrew Lipsky — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:05:00 PDT

In August, 2011, the Pawtuxet River flowed freely into Narragansett Bay, R.I., for the first time in more than 200 years. The removal of Pawtuxet Falls Dam was the culmination of years of planning and permitting by the Pawtuxet River Authority, Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, and a partnership of more than a dozen state, federal and non-profit organizations, with technical support provided by EA Engineering, Science and Technology. The project restored seven miles of spawning habitat for American shad and river herring to Narragansett Bay's third-largest tributary. The project team overcame a number of significant design challenges, including public concerns regarding aesthetics and historic preservation; contaminated sediments; poor construction access; concerns about flood vulnerability; and an unprecedented regulatory scale. We'll share innovative solutions and adaptive management approaches that resulted in successful outcomes, and can be applied to similar projects throughout the country.

Removal of the Merrimack Village Dam

Mark Wamser — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:25:00 PDT

For decades, a dam was located on the Souhegan River, roughly 1,800 feet upstream of its confluence with the Merrimack River. The dam, known locally as the Merrimack Village Dam (MVD), was located in a highly visible location in Merrimack, NH. The former owner of MVD, Pennichuck Water Works (Pennichuck), is a water supply company who purchased the dam in the 1960s as a potential water supply source, but it was never developed. In the mid 2000s, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) who regulated dam safety, issued Pennichuck a letter highlighting several deficiencies with the dam requiring extensive costs. NHDES also indicated that as an option to repairing the dam, they offer a program to assist owners with removing dams. After weighing the cost associated with dam repair, on-going liability, on-going operation and maintenance costs and the ecological restoration benefits, Pennichuck opted to conduct a feasibility study to determine if it was practical to remove the structure. Pennichuck applied and received numerous grants to help partially defray the cost of conducting a feasibility study and the eventual removal of a 20-foot high, 180 foot-long concrete and stone masonry dam in 2008.

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.

Session C8 - Log Jam Distribution and Carbon Storage in Headwater Streams in Colorado's Front Range

Natalie Beckman — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:50:00 PDT

Historical documents and recent field studies suggest that resource use within the Colorado Rockies during the past two centuries has reduced the wood loads and frequency of wood jams along most forested streams. Log jams tend to provide habitat for fish, slow the transport of carbon, and encourage its uptake in the riverine environment and therefore may have effects which extend beyond stream. To evaluate the effects of past disturbances, wood loads and jam frequency are compared based on stream characteristics, forest age, and flow alteration. In addition, sediment samples from reaches with and without log jams are compared based on organic matter (OM) content and Total Carbon (TC) content. Samples taken from behind log jams are compared to samples taken from other backwater areas along a river reach. Preliminary results of the 2010/2011 field seasons indicate that log jams on streams draining old growth forest (more than 200 years since last disturbance) average 45/km, while streams draining younger stands average 15/km, indicating reduced habitat variability for fish in disturbed reaches. In addition, sediment samples taken from log jams (regardless of forest age) have an overall average of 5% OM, as compared to an average of 1% OM in samples taken from non-jam areas. Samples taken from log jams on streams draining old growth forests have an average of 12% OM, indicating an overall decrease in stored carbon in disturbed reaches.

Session B8 - Tide Gates And Their Impacts On Juvenile Coho Salmon In Southern Oregon

Guillermo Giannico — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:50:00 PDT

Tide gates are one-way doors integrated into dyke systems that prevent saltwater intrusion to agricultural land and allow freshwater drainage to the estuary during low tide. Tide gates may act as fish passage barriers for juvenile salmonids, limiting movements during migration and access to rearing habitats. We conducted our research in Coos Bay, one of the many Oregon estuaries with extensive use of tide gates. Our objectives were to 1) develop a methodology for recording fish passage at tide gates 2) describe the conditions under which fish passage occurs and 3) compare fish passage behavior between a top-hinged tide gate, a side-hinged tide gate and a non-gated stream. We installed stationary passive integrated transponder (PIT) antennae around a top-hinged gate, a side-hinged gate and in a non-gated reference system to track the movement of PIT tagged juvenile coho salmon. Our results indicate that coho salmon smolt passed upstream most frequently at the non-gated channel (48% of all smolts detected), than the side-hinge gated site (28%) or the top-hinge gated site (3%). Subyearling coho salmon passed more frequently at a specific range of gate angles and tailwater depths at both top hinged and side-hinged tide gates. Smolts preferred greater gate angles and tailwater depths than average to pass downstream at both tide gates. Subyearlings passed upstream more frequently during small gate angles and a narrow range of tailwater depths at the top-hinged gate but did not display preference for a particular condition at the side-hinged gate. At the top-hinged gate, conditions favorable for subyearling upstream passage occurred towards the end of the gate open period and therefore subyearlings were severely limited in their opportunities for passage. In addition to these direct physical effects on juvenile salmonid passage, tide gates also seem to influence fish migratory timing by altering environmental conditions around them.

Session A8 - Fish Passage Development on the lower Clark Fork River

Sean Moran — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:50:00 PDT

Avista Corporation (Avista) operates Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge hydrologic developments on the lower Clark Fork River near the Montana-Idaho border. Avista's pro-active relicensing application process for these facilities involved years of planning and consensus building among 27 stakeholder groups representing state and federal agencies, Indian tribes, and non-governmental organizations. This nationally recognized effort culminated in the Clark Fork Settlement Agreement (CFSA) in 1999. Approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2000, the CFSA addressed fisheries management and mitigation efforts through the Native Salmonid Restoration Plan (NSRP). The NSRP utilizes adaptive management in implementing diverse fisheries programs that address fish passage, tributary habitat, pathogens, genetics, and non-native species among others. Development of upstream fish passage for adult bull trout has been challenging due to the unfamiliarity of this species' fish passage requirements and the dynamic nature of the two tailraces. Extensive tailrace telemetry studies, flow modeling, as well as experimental, smaller scale fish passage facilities culminated in the formation of an expert review panel and an agreement of fish passage proceedings between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Avista. This agreement led to the design of permanent fishways for both Cabinet Gorge and Noxon Rapids dams. Concurrent with this fishway development process, upstream passage efforts that utilize capture by electrofishing, hook-and-line, and a fish ladder trap, and upstream transport of adult bull trout began in 2001. To date these efforts have passed a total of 365 adult bull trout upstream. Ongoing monitoring of these passage efforts included a genetic parentage study that confirmed the contribution of transported fish to upstream populations. It is anticipated that the operation of fishways in the lower Clark Fork River will build upon this reconnection for not only bull trout but for other native species of the lower Clark Fork River.

Session D5 - Downstream Passage Survival of American Eel at the School Street Hydroelectric Project Cohoes, NY

Bryan Apell — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:30:00 PDT

The School Street Hydroelectric Project (Project) (FERC No. 2539) is owned and operated by Brookfield Renewable Power (Brookfield). The Project is located in Cohoes, New York, on the Mohawk River, approximately 2.5 river miles upstream from its confluence with the Hudson River. The Project was issued a new FERC License in 2007, which required downstream fish passage for anadromous and catadromous fish, as well as resident/riverine fish species. The construction of the downstream fishway was completed in the summer of 2009 and included; an angled bar rack with one inch clear spacing and a concrete eel diversion structure located at the base of the bar rack, and a fish conveyance system with; two entrance locations, surface and bottom gates, a collection chamber, an overflow weir and a final discharge pipe that descends 90 feet in elevation. In October of 2011, Brookfield evaluated downstream bypass survival of adult (silver phase) American eel. Prior efforts to collect a sufficient number of adult test eels within the Project waters were unsuccessful in 2009 and 2010 due to limited availability. As such, test eels were purchased from a commercial fishery on the Sebasticook River in Newport, ME. A total of 105 eels was injected into the fishway and recaptured in the tailrace using a customized net pen. Of those released, 56 were recaptured (recapture efficiency = 53.8%) and held overnight in the net pen to investigate latent mortality. Following the 15-hour holding period the condition of the test eels were evaluated as Alive or Dead. All 56 test eels were determined to be Alive and exhibited a bypass survival of 100%.

Session C8 - Sand Creek Meanders Inside Culvert

Bryan Ripp — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:30:00 PDT

The main runway for this general aviation airport requires routing Sand Creek through a 600-foot long culvert under the runway. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources required that the channel within the culvert must contain elements which allow fish passage or more specifically places for fish to rest. This requirement eliminated the typical design of a flat-bottom, lined culvert, such as a typical box culvert. In order to meet the goals of the design, a process-based geomorphic assessment of the creek was conducted, including a longitudinal profile. Using Natural Channel Design, a meandering, two-stage channel within a 24-foot-wide arch culvert was designed. HEC-RAS was used to properly size the culvert to pass the 100-year recurrence flood as well as model the channel shears for choosing and sizing bank and channel treatments. In addition, FishXing software was used to verify fish could travel upstream in the pool/riffle structure planned. The resulting design was a rock-lined two-stage channel with a pool/riffle structure within the culvert. In the design, the new channel was reconnected to the existing channel, as a two-stage channel with pre-vegetated coir log and rock bank treatments and Newbury rock weir grade controls in a sand-bottom channel. The culvert and channel inside, and the realigned channel with pre-vegetated coir logs were completed in late 2009. Live staking and bare-root planting in the reconstructed floodplain was completed during the spring 2010. The design team presented this design to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, including a comprehensive understanding of the geomorphic setting as well as the science and engineering rationale behind the design. Had the team not proposed this design, the project would have been placed on indefinite hold and likely be in litigation. Placing multiple meanders within a culvert is arguably the first of its kind in the US.

Session B8 - Effect of Upstream Fish Passage Structure Entrance Design and Head Differential on Attraction and Entry of Adult American Shad

Alex Haro — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:30:00 PDT

Physical and hydraulic characteristics of upstream fish passage structures (e.g., fishways, fish lifts) are critical for effective attraction and entry of target species to be passed. These characteristics may be species specific, but have not been extensively quantified. We evaluated attraction and entry of adult American shad and lake sturgeon to experimental surface and submerged orifice entrance structures at several entrance head differential (water velocity) and siting (center of channel, side of channel) conditions, under controlled laboratory conditions. Initial attraction of American shad to both entrance types was relatively rapid under all conditions and was highest for the lowest test entrance velocity . For surface weirs, attraction rate appeared to decrease with increasing head differential. American shad entered surface weirs preferentially over orifices; head differential appeared to have no effect on orifice attraction rate of American shad. Lake sturgeon appeared to be more attracted to surface weirs than orifices at the lowest head differential; attraction to orifices and surface weirs at the higher head differential was roughly equivalent. Sturgeon appeared to display no preference for entry via surface weirs or orifices, but overall proportion of fish passing was low, which may have limited statistical precision of results. Both species appeared to show little preference for either center or side entrances, except that American shad strongly selected the side surface weir at the 0.30 m differential. Results from this study show a degree of interplay between attraction and passage for various entrance configurations and hydraulic conditions. Depending on species, one particular combination of factors may elicit strong attraction, but only modest passage.