Ecohydraulics of Pool-Type Fishways

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydraulics and Hydrodynamics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 14746

Special Issue Editors

Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability, Técnico, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: ecohydraulics; hydraulics of structures; dam safety; fish passes; Eflows
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
CERIS - Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability
Interests: Fishways; Ecohydraulics; Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD); Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (ADV); Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV); River connectivity; Hydraulics and Water resources; River restoration and management
CERIS - Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability
Interests: River restoration and management; River connectivity; Ecohydraulics; Fishways; Fish migration; Fisheries management; Freshwater biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fishways are hydraulic structures that mitigate the negative effects of anthropogenic barriers in rivers by allowing fish to move upstream and downstream, thus restoring longitudinal connectivity.

Pool-type fishways are one of the oldest, most widespread types of fishway. They may present different configurations, from the alternate deep notch and submerged orifice design, which needs relatively low discharge to operate, to the vertical slot fishway, which is considered the best technical fishway type when multiple species are targeted, allowing fish to negotiate the slots at their desired depth. Recently, the concepts of double or multi-slot fishways, that reduces the discharge needed to operate, has been applied and developed.

In each of these fishway types, problems regarding attraction, passage, and maintenance are key aspects for the success of the fishway that still require extensive research, application, and monitoring.

Overall, the objective of a fishway is restoring connectivity. Therefore, pool-type fishways should desirably approach the holistic concept, allowing the fish community, or at least the key species, to overcome the barrier.

Recent developments of the methods, tools, and devices to assess fish passage behavior and to measure and simulate the hydrodynamic conditions downstream and along the fishway allow for new insights in the design of these ecohydraulic structures and motivate this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. António Pinheiro
Dr. Ana L. Quaresma
Dr. Filipe Romão
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Pool-orifice-weir fishway
  • Vertical slot fishway
  • Multi-slot fishway
  • CFD modelling
  • Attractiveness
  • Effectiveness
  • Efficiency
  • Monitoring
  • Retrofitting

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1772 KiB  
Article
Modelling of Pool-Type Fishways Flows: Efficiency and Scale Effects Assessment
by Ana L. Quaresma and António N. Pinheiro
Water 2021, 13(6), 851; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13060851 - 20 Mar 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2579
Abstract
In this study, the 3D numerical modelling of flow in a pool-type fishway with bottom orifices was performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software (FLOW-3D®). Numerical results were compared with experimental data obtained from acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) and particle image [...] Read more.
In this study, the 3D numerical modelling of flow in a pool-type fishway with bottom orifices was performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software (FLOW-3D®). Numerical results were compared with experimental data obtained from acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Several hydrodynamic variables that influence fishways efficiencies, such as flow depths, flow patterns, water velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, Reynolds normal stresses, and Reynolds shear stress parallel to the bottom component, were qualitatively and quantitatively compared. The numerical model accurately reproduced the complex flow field, showing an overall good agreement between the numerical model predictions and the experimental data for the analysed variables. The importance of performing a numerical model validation for all the parameters under analyses was highlighted. Additionally, scaling effects were analysed by running an upscaled numerical model of the prototype fishway. The model performed with similar accuracy for both physical model and prototype dimensions with no evidence of scale effects. The present study concludes that CFD models (namely FLOW-3D®) may be used as an adequate and efficient design and analysis tool for new pool-type fishways geometries, reducing and complementing physical model testing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecohydraulics of Pool-Type Fishways)
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13 pages, 1475 KiB  
Article
Multislot Fishway Improves Entrance Performance and Fish Transit Time over Vertical Slots
by Filipe Romão, Ana L. Quaresma, José M. Santos, Susana D. Amaral, Paulo Branco and António N. Pinheiro
Water 2021, 13(3), 275; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030275 - 24 Jan 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2304
Abstract
Pool-type fishways have been increasingly tested to improve fish passage performance and minimize migration delays. Designing cost-effective fishways is essential for a trade-off between water uses and successful longitudinal connectivity restoration. The multislot fishway (MSF) concept, which operates with 30–50% lower discharge than [...] Read more.
Pool-type fishways have been increasingly tested to improve fish passage performance and minimize migration delays. Designing cost-effective fishways is essential for a trade-off between water uses and successful longitudinal connectivity restoration. The multislot fishway (MSF) concept, which operates with 30–50% lower discharge than a vertical slot fishway (VSF), was recently developed. This study assessed and compared the entrance performance (entrance time; entry efficiency) and transit times of two cyprinids for VSFs and MSFs. Four configurations, with the same structural characteristics (slope; water depth; head drop; pool width and depth), operating with different discharges (Q), were tested (VSF 1: Q = 112 L·s−1; VSF 2: Q = 80 L·s−1; MSF 1: Q = 58 L·s−1; MSF 2: Q = 37 L·s−1). Hydrodynamics characterization was performed using a numerical model. Results showed that entry efficiency was higher in MSFs than in VSFs, while entrance time and transit time were overall lower. Numerical modelling revealed that velocities were around 30% lower in MSFs, and turbulence could reach a difference of around 70% in Reynolds shear stress and 50% in turbulent kinetic energy. Overall, MSFs can be considered as a cost-effective fishway solution that can balance the trade-offs between divergent interests in water uses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecohydraulics of Pool-Type Fishways)
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26 pages, 9495 KiB  
Article
Design and Function Monitoring of an Enature® Vertical Slot Fish Pass in a Large Potamal River in Carinthia/Austria
by Helmut Mader, Andreas Brandl and Sabine Käfer
Water 2020, 12(2), 551; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020551 - 15 Feb 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3550
Abstract
To establish good ecological status in European rivers, firstly there is the question of how to re-establish unhindered migration for fish at barriers. This article documents a project to re-establish longitudinal connectivity at a large epipotamal river at the Schwabeck Hydro Power Plant, [...] Read more.
To establish good ecological status in European rivers, firstly there is the question of how to re-establish unhindered migration for fish at barriers. This article documents a project to re-establish longitudinal connectivity at a large epipotamal river at the Schwabeck Hydro Power Plant, Carinthia/Austria, from the selection of an appropriate fish pass system to the final function control. Instead of a standard vertical slot, the innovative enature® fish pass shape with a significant reduction of flow, velocities, energy dissipation rate, and turbulences, but with a clear enhancement of fish passage capability, was chosen. Using 2D hydraulic modelling and a statistical evaluation of fish passage, physical and ecological effects were reviewed, with the clear result that there is no identifiable, positive ecological effect on the number of fish migrating with an increase of concurrent flow in the fish pass. Passability and findability were monitored with the new FishCam, an automatic, precise, and constant (24/7 24 h a day, seven days a week) collection and pre-evaluation field data survey method which does not involve trapping of, contact with, or stress for fish. It was shown that the enature® fish pass enables an unhindered migration for all available fish species. As >99% of fish migrate from April to November, there is no ecological need to operate a fully functional fish pass year-round. Combining all the individual factors together, the fish pass at the Schwabeck Hydro Power Plant is an almost exemplary solution for a fully functioning restauration of the continuum with a minimized loss of generation of electricity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecohydraulics of Pool-Type Fishways)
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18 pages, 2094 KiB  
Article
A Cone Fishway Facilitates Lateral Migrations of Tropical River-Floodplain Fish Communities
by Lee J. Baumgartner, Craig Boys, Tim Marsden, Jarrod McPherson, Nathan Ning, Oudom Phonekhampheng, Wayne Robinson, Douangkham Singhanouvong, Ivor G. Stuart and Garry Thorncraft
Water 2020, 12(2), 513; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020513 - 13 Feb 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2500
Abstract
Fisheries in many tropical river-floodplain systems are under threat from physical obstructions caused by ongoing river infrastructure development. There is a growing need for innovative, cost-effective technologies to mitigate the impacts of these obstructions. This study examined the effectiveness of a new cone [...] Read more.
Fisheries in many tropical river-floodplain systems are under threat from physical obstructions caused by ongoing river infrastructure development. There is a growing need for innovative, cost-effective technologies to mitigate the impacts of these obstructions. This study examined the effectiveness of a new cone fishway for facilitating lateral migrations of river-floodplain fish communities in the Lower Mekong Basin in Lao PDR. We assessed the species richness, size range, abundance and biomass of fish able to pass through a cone fishway, using paired entrance and exit sampling during both dawn/day and dusk/night. Overall, a diverse range of taxa (76 species) and size classes (25–370 mm) ascended the cone fishway. The total size range of fishes observed at the fishway entrance was similar to that at the exit, although the fish at the entrance were significantly smaller (in length) than those at the exit, during both diel periods. Additionally, there were significantly higher abundances of fish at the entrance than at the exit, but there was no difference in total biomass, again for both periods. These results suggest that, with further development, the cone fishway design has considerable potential for facilitating the lateral migrations of diverse tropical river-floodplain fish communities at low/medium head infrastructure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecohydraulics of Pool-Type Fishways)
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14 pages, 1294 KiB  
Article
Passage Performance of Technical Pool-Type Fishways for Potamodromous Cyprinids: Novel Experiences in Semiarid Environments
by Francisco Javier Sanz-Ronda, Francisco Javier Bravo-Córdoba, Ana Sánchez-Pérez, Ana García-Vega, Jorge Valbuena-Castro, Leandro Fernandes-Celestino, Mar Torralva and Francisco José Oliva-Paterna
Water 2019, 11(11), 2362; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112362 - 11 Nov 2019
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3110
Abstract
Endemic freshwater fish from semiarid environments are among the most threated species in the world due to water overexploitation and habitat fragmentation problems. Stepped or pool-type fishways are used worldwide to reestablish longitudinal connectivity and mitigate fish migration problems. Many of them are [...] Read more.
Endemic freshwater fish from semiarid environments are among the most threated species in the world due to water overexploitation and habitat fragmentation problems. Stepped or pool-type fishways are used worldwide to reestablish longitudinal connectivity and mitigate fish migration problems. Many of them are being installed or planned in rivers of semiarid environments, however, very few studies about fish passage performance through pool-type fishways has been carried out to date on these regions. The present work focuses on the passage performance of two potamodromous cyprinids endemic of these regions, with different ecological and swimming behavior: southern Iberian barbel (Luciobarbus sclateri) and Iberian straight-mouth nase (Pseudochondrostoma polylepis). These are assessed in two of the most common types of stepped fishways: vertical slot and submerged notch with bottom orifice fishways. Experiments were carried out during the spawning season in the Segura River (southeastern Spain), using a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag and antenna system. Ascent success was greater than 80%, with a median transit time lower than 17 minutes per meter of height in all trials, and for both species and fishway types. Results show that both types of fishways, if correctly designed and constructed, provide interesting alternatives for the restoration of fish migration pathways in these regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecohydraulics of Pool-Type Fishways)
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