A Parametric Approach for Determining Fishway Attraction Flow at Hydropower Dams
High discharges at hydropower plants (HPP) may mask fishway attraction flows and, thereby, prevent fishes from locating and using fishways critical for their access to upstream spawning and rearing habitats. Existing methods for determining attraction flows are either based on simple guidelines (e.g...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/5/743 |
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| author | Patrick Heneka Markus Zinkhahn Cornelia Schütz Roman B. Weichert |
| author_facet | Patrick Heneka Markus Zinkhahn Cornelia Schütz Roman B. Weichert |
| author_sort | Patrick Heneka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High discharges at hydropower plants (HPP) may mask fishway attraction flows and, thereby, prevent fishes from locating and using fishways critical for their access to upstream spawning and rearing habitats. Existing methods for determining attraction flows are either based on simple guidelines (e.g., a proportion of HPP discharge) that cannot address the spatial and temporal complexity of tailrace flow patterns or complicated studies (e.g., combinations of detailed hydraulic and biological investigations) that are expensive and time-consuming. To bridge this gap, we present a new, intermediate approach to reliably determine attraction flows for technical fishways at small to medium-sized waterways (mean annual flow up to 400 m<sup>3</sup>/s). Fundamental to our approach is a design criterion that the attraction flow should maintain its integrity as it propagates downstream from the fishway entrance to beyond the highly turbulent zone characteristic of HPP tailraces to create a discernable migration corridor connecting the fishway entrance to the downstream river. To implement this criterion, we describe a set of equations to calculate the width of the entrance and the corresponding attraction discharge. Input data are usually easy to obtain and include geometrical and hydraulic parameters describing the target HPP and its tailrace. To confirm our approach, we compare model results to four sites at German waterways where the design of attraction flow was obtained by detailed experimental and numerical methods. The comparison shows good agreement supporting our approach as a useful, intermediate alternative for determining attraction flows that bridges the gap between simple guidelines and detailed hydraulic and biological investigations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:23:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0fd56e9b168346428259e88aad489fee |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:23:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-0fd56e9b168346428259e88aad489fee2023-11-21T09:49:04ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-03-0113574310.3390/w13050743A Parametric Approach for Determining Fishway Attraction Flow at Hydropower DamsPatrick Heneka0Markus Zinkhahn1Cornelia Schütz2Roman B. Weichert3Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW), 76187 Karlsruhe, GermanyFederal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW), 76187 Karlsruhe, GermanyFederal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), 56068 Koblenz, GermanyFederal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW), 76187 Karlsruhe, GermanyHigh discharges at hydropower plants (HPP) may mask fishway attraction flows and, thereby, prevent fishes from locating and using fishways critical for their access to upstream spawning and rearing habitats. Existing methods for determining attraction flows are either based on simple guidelines (e.g., a proportion of HPP discharge) that cannot address the spatial and temporal complexity of tailrace flow patterns or complicated studies (e.g., combinations of detailed hydraulic and biological investigations) that are expensive and time-consuming. To bridge this gap, we present a new, intermediate approach to reliably determine attraction flows for technical fishways at small to medium-sized waterways (mean annual flow up to 400 m<sup>3</sup>/s). Fundamental to our approach is a design criterion that the attraction flow should maintain its integrity as it propagates downstream from the fishway entrance to beyond the highly turbulent zone characteristic of HPP tailraces to create a discernable migration corridor connecting the fishway entrance to the downstream river. To implement this criterion, we describe a set of equations to calculate the width of the entrance and the corresponding attraction discharge. Input data are usually easy to obtain and include geometrical and hydraulic parameters describing the target HPP and its tailrace. To confirm our approach, we compare model results to four sites at German waterways where the design of attraction flow was obtained by detailed experimental and numerical methods. The comparison shows good agreement supporting our approach as a useful, intermediate alternative for determining attraction flows that bridges the gap between simple guidelines and detailed hydraulic and biological investigations.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/5/743upstream fish migrationfish passageecological connectivityhydropower plantsattraction flowturbulent jet |
| spellingShingle | Patrick Heneka Markus Zinkhahn Cornelia Schütz Roman B. Weichert A Parametric Approach for Determining Fishway Attraction Flow at Hydropower Dams Water upstream fish migration fish passage ecological connectivity hydropower plants attraction flow turbulent jet |
| title | A Parametric Approach for Determining Fishway Attraction Flow at Hydropower Dams |
| title_full | A Parametric Approach for Determining Fishway Attraction Flow at Hydropower Dams |
| title_fullStr | A Parametric Approach for Determining Fishway Attraction Flow at Hydropower Dams |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Parametric Approach for Determining Fishway Attraction Flow at Hydropower Dams |
| title_short | A Parametric Approach for Determining Fishway Attraction Flow at Hydropower Dams |
| title_sort | parametric approach for determining fishway attraction flow at hydropower dams |
| topic | upstream fish migration fish passage ecological connectivity hydropower plants attraction flow turbulent jet |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/5/743 |
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