South Berwick Fish Passage
Enel North America
South Berwick, ME
The South Berwick project, located on the Salmon Falls
River, is a 1,200 kw three-unit hydroelectric project with 20
feet of gross head and is the first dam on a river undergoing
anadromous fish restoration. The project was required to
provide
upstream and downstream passage facilities for American Shad, Atlantic
Salmon and river herring.
Kleinschmidt assisted the owner in a review of passage options that included the review of a Denil ladder and a fish elevator with trap and truck provisions. Kleinschmidt also reviewed various construction materials to reduce costs. Kleinschmidt provided all conceptual and final design services, preparation of permit applications, construction monitoring and follow-up effectiveness testing for both the upstream and downstream passage systems.
The ladder system is unique in both its material construction and the fact that the system is used for both upstream and downstream passage.
The upstream passage system consists of a standard Denil ladder. The lower section of the ladder was constructed with concrete walls sections while the remaining section of the ladder consists of pre-fabricated elevated galvanized steel ladder sections supported by local steel bents attached to the powerhouse foundation.
The downstream fish passage consists of a surface bypass entrance and angled bar rack system. During the downstream passage season baffles are removed from the Denil ladder and the ladder chute is used to pass downstream migrants to the tailrace.
Upon completion of the passage systems Kleinschmidt conducted a quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of the upstream and downstream passage systems. The upstream ladder testing was conducted using Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tagged fish collected in the project’s tailrace, and monitoring their subsequent movements using a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system. Downstream passage testing was conducted using a custom designed fish collection screen and marked fish.
For more information contact Brandon Kulik.