2006-11-03 02:31:21 · 5 answers · asked by simon r 3 in Environment
This has been a problem in the past on the Columbia River. Adult salmon swim up fish ladders to reach the spawning grounds, but many young fish going downstream have trouble finding their way and would end up going through the turbines. In large lakes screens are ineffective as fish become confused and do not find the fish passage out of the artificial lake. At the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, studies using "robofish", a mechanical fish simulation, estimates that 5% of fish are killed directly by the turbines, with another 5% stunned and subject to easy predation. With 10% mortality at each dam, a river with many dams, such as the Columbia, can have extreme losses. Solutions to this problem have been to capture and barge salmon around dams or to allow water to spill over the top of dams during migration. Engineers are working on new turbine designs to reduce fish mortality, and some of the new turbines are already on line. The book listed below is (in mine and others opinion) the definitive history of human efforts to help anadromous (ocean going) fish in the Northwest US.
2006-11-03 06:56:58 · answer #1 · answered by gordon B 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Turbines of hydroelectric plants can kill fish that get pulled into them, but since that can also damage the turbine, there is usually a screen placed at the intake to keep fish, and any solid thing in the water, from entering it.
2006-11-03 04:12:12 · answer #2 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The answer should be NO, as turbines are usually very expensive precision pieces of machinery, they are protected to STOP any fish or other object from getting in or near them, usually there are special canals built into dams so the fish can get past
2006-11-03 05:35:35 · answer #3 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree with poster number 2. In the olden days, a dam was effectively a dead end for fish. These days there are fish ladders so the fish can swim around the dam. Theoretically, that means the dam doesn't affect fish at all. In practice, dams cause the water to be much warmer than before so the fish can get exhausted.
2006-11-03 06:15:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Don't think so, not unless they swam into the turbines.
2006-11-05 00:59:20 · answer #5 · answered by patsy 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋