Resolving the trade-off between silver eel escapement and hydropower generation with simple decision rules for turbine shutdown

Journal of Environmental Management
Nils TeichertEric de Oliveira

Abstract

Hydropower plants are commonly reported as a major cause of the worldwide decline of freshwater eels (Anguillidae), so that management solutions are urgently needed to mitigate their impacts. Where downstream passage solutions are complex to develop, turbine shutdown appears as an effective management solution to protect silver eels during their river migration toward spawning areas. However, the definition of operational decision rules for turbine shutdown is challenging due to the duality between the benefit for eel conservation and the concomitant cost in term of hydropower production. Here, we proposed a decision framework for turbine shutdown based on simple hydrological criteria to guide negotiations between stakeholders toward a trade-off between silver eel escapement and hydropower generation. Eel migration was assumed to be triggered by a minimum river flow associated with a minimum discharge pulse, so that threshold values can be directly implemented as decision rules for turbine shutdown. To estimate relevant thresholds, a generic methodological framework was developed to generate alternative decision rules from data collected at hydropower plants, which can include telemetry surveys and estimates of eel abundance. A...Continue Reading

References

Apr 16, 2005·Science·Christer NilssonCarmen Revenga
May 8, 2007·Journal of Environmental Management·Stefan A Hajkowicz
Jul 19, 2011·The Science of the Total Environment·Ivy B HuangIgor Linkov
Aug 16, 2017·Ecology and Evolution·Odd Terje SandlundLeif Asbjørn Vøllestad
Jan 14, 2018·Environmental Management·H DrouineauE de Oliveira

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