Claytor Hydroelectric Project- Fish Entrainment and Impingement Study

(FERC No. 739)

byDouglas Royer

Sr. Scientist/Project Manager

Normandeau Associates• Employee-Owned Natural Resource Consulting Firm• 13 Offices & 35 Years of Experience• Hydropower, Energy, Transportation, Coastal & Marine,

Ports & Waterways, Water Resources, Geoscience, Ecological, Hazardous Waste Sites

Normandeau Associates

• Professional Expertise (150 Reg. Employees)– Fisheries Scientists and Biologists– Limnologists– Hydrogeologists– Wetland scientists– Ornithologists– Wildlife biologists– Taxonomists (Macroinvertebrate & Fish

Larvae)– SCUBA divers– Engineers

Project Team

• Normandeau Associates, Inc.– Mr. Douglas Royer, Project Manager– Dr. Dilip Mathur, Technical Director– Mr. Terry Euston, Senior Scientist– Dr. Matthew Chan, ADP Coordinator– Mr. Jeff Wollis, Field Crew Leader

• Interactive Oceanographics– Mr. Tom Opishinski - ADP Expert

Advisor

Objectives• Evaluate the likelihood of entrainment,

impingement, and turbine mortality for juvenile and adult life stages of fish species in Claytor Reservoir– Species of interest

• striped bass• largemouth bass• smallmouth bass• white bass• spotted bass• hybrid striped bass• gizzard shad• walleye• alewife• black crappie• bluegill

Literature Based Estimate

Of I&E

Description of Site

Characteristics

Survival Observed at

Other Sites

Survival Predicted by

Models

Qualitative Assessment

of I&E, Turbine

Survival for Target Species

Qualitative and Quantitative

Assessment of Turbine Passage

Survival

Life History Information

Qualitative and Quantitative

Assessment of I&E

Entrainment, Impingement, and Turbine Mortality Factors

• Size and depth of intakes• Water velocity at intake entrance• Intake location relative to fish habitat• Characteristics of fisheries populations

– Number and size of individuals– Fish Behavior (migratory, preferred habitat)

• Characteristics of Turbine Units– Turbine Type– Size– Number of blades– Spacing of blades– Turbine Speed– Water pressure (penstock, turbine or tailwater)

• Reservoir water levels

Primary Tasks

1. Literature review of swim speeds/behavior for

juveniles and adults stages of target species

2. Review evidence of any I&E problems associated

with current operations

3. Literature review and comparative analysis of I&E

problems reported for similar projects

4. Measure intake velocity fields during maximum

hydraulic capacities and compare velocities against

swim speeds

5. Qualitative and quantitative analysis

Methods by Task

1. Literature searches: EPRI database, include published science articles, grey literature, reports submitted to FERC and internet sources.

2. Review evidence of any impingement and entrainment problems, accomplished by requesting information from AEP, including reports of problems, reviewing any past studies, obtaining any letters from agencies or the public, talking with operators, etc...

Methods by Task (cont’d)

3. Identify and review studies at projects of similar design– Literature search, primarily grey

literature, and any published literature– Review information on project

characteristics and fish fauna– Request quantitative information as

needed

Methods by Task (cont’d)

4. Estimate intake and bar rack velocities• Field survey of intake velocities will be

made with a boat mounted Sontek Acoustic Doppler Profiler (ADP)

• Safety concerns may alter the exact method of deployment, but it will use an ADP

• Velocities at bar racks will be provided by AEP based on engineering analysis

• Direct comparison of velocities and swim speeds

Intake Velocity Survey

Intake Velocity Survey

Data ProcessorComputer

Cell 1

Cell 2

Cell 3

Cell N

Blanking Region: 3.0 MHz ADP = Face to 0.2 m

Sontek 3.0 MHz ADP Sensor

PVC Pontoons

MarineBattery

Maximum Distance: 3.0 MHz ADP = 6 m

Acoustic beams oriented 25˚ off vertical axis

Methods by Task (cont’d)

5. Estimate Turbine Mortality using predictive models.

Literature Based Survival

• Use a developed database of all available turbine passage survival studies then culled by:– Study characteristics– Station characteristics– Species

Literature Based Survival: Study Characteristics

• Established mark-recapture techniques– Adequate control groups, reasonable

recapture rates, assumption testing• Completeness of data

– Turbine and station characteristics, species data, etc.

• Control mortality ≤50%, sample size (N) >25• Statistically based studies with validity of

assumptions testing • Professional judgment

Literature Based Survival: Station Characteristics

Example Station A Example Station B

Parameter Actual Criteria Actual Criteria

Runner diameter (in) 115 - 200 100 - 300 50 - 62 60 - 240

Discharge (cfs) 1,400 - 5,500

1,000 - 10,000 500 ≤1,000

Head (ft) 70 100 31 - 46 ≤100

Runnerbuckets (#) NA NA 16 ≤16

Literature Based Survival:

• Target species• Similar species or families• Fish lengths

– Heisey et al. (1996) – size more important than species

– Typically three size classes for Entrainment Density per EPRI 1997

– Typically four size classes for mean Survival per EPRI 1997

Example of Survival Using Predictive Models

• Franke et al. (1997)– Based on VonRaben model (Bell

1981)

• Example for three turbine types– Kaplan– Propeller– Francis

• Example for six fish lengths

Francis Model

S = 1 – P

ParametersP = probability of strikel = strike mortality correlation factorN = number of turbine runner bladesL = fish lengthD = maximum turbine runner diameteraa = angle to axial of absolute flow upstream of turbine runnerQwd = discharge coefficient (Q/wD3)w = rotational speed (rpm x 2p/60)R = turbine runner radiusr = turbine runner radius at point fish enters turbineS = survival probability

Assignment of Survival Estimates

• Quantitative estimates– Derived from field study– Basis for qualitative descriptors

• Qualitative descriptors– High– Moderate High – Moderate – Low Moderate – Low

Results – Previous Studies

Sites included in analysis

Example

Station A

Example

Station B

Station criteria met 17 8

Station criteria met or target/similar species studied

21 15

Example Station A – Avg. survival rates (%) observed at other sites for target/similar species. Number of studies in

parentheses.

Fish

Species

Small

Fish

Medium

Fish

Large

Fish

1 ---- ---- 70.9 (3)

2 90.9 (2) ---- ----

3 96.6 (7) ---- 85.0 (3)

4 96.0 (1) ----

Size Avg. 94.5 (10) ---- 77.9 (6)

Example- Combined Qualitative and QuantitativeEstimate at Example Station A

Fish Size Group

Empirical Estimates Predictive Estimates

Units 1 & 3 Units 2 & 4 Unit 6

Small - - - -

H H H H

Medium - - - -

H M - L MH - L M - L

Large - - - -

M L L L

Schedule

RFPObjective Tasks Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar

Pre-Study MeetingSwimming Speed and Behavior Literature ReviewReview of Current Project Operating RegimesLit. Review and Comparison of Similar ProjectsField Collection of Velocity Profile MeasurementsData Analysis and SummaryEstablish Threshold Velocities for each DevelopmentProgress ReportsDraft ReportReview PeriodRevisions and Report

2007 2008