Browsing by Subject "Fish ladders"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Performance Assessment of Oversized Culverts to Accommodate Fish Passage
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation Research Services Section, 2011-08) Hansen, Brad; Johnson, Sara; Nieber, John L.; Marr, Jeff
    In Minnesota there is not a standard culvert design used at road crossings to improve aquatic organism or fish passage. The design process for fish passage in Minnesota is currently based on the knowledge and experience of local county, state and DNR personnel. The design methodology attempts to maintain the natural stream dimensions, pattern and profile through the culvert crossing. If designed properly aquatic organisms and fish that can make it upstream to the culvert should be able to pass through the culvert. This research was conducted to better understand the hydraulic conditions related to the practice of recessing culverts and other fish passage design elements over a range of landscapes in Minnesota. The design elements analyzed included bankfull width, slope, channel materials, side barrels and recessed culverts. Nineteen culvert sites were survey around the state. The main criterion used to evaluate performance of the culverts was the presence or absence of adequate sediment in the recessed culvert barrel. Six of the fourteen sites with recessed barrels had no sediment accumulation. A likely reason that these culverts lack sediment was increased velocities due to improper sizing relative to bankfull channel width and the accumulation of sediment in the side barrels. Wider Rosgen “C” type channels also correlated with performance issues related to culvert design.
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    Thinking Inside the Box (Culvert): Developing a Low-Cost, Easy-to-Install Retrofit Prototype for Fish Passage
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2024-05) Kozarek, Jessica; Hernick, Matthew
    This project addresses a need to develop a low-cost, easy-to-install, and safe culvert retrofit for fish passage. Culverts can create barriers to fish movement due to fast-flowing water with no resting areas, shallow flow, and/or lack of cover. While new culvert design guidance addresses these concerns, many existing culverts have known fish passage issues that are not slated for replacement. We previously investigated a potential solution, using mussel spat rope, a fibrous plastic rope that has been demonstrated to facilitate fish passage in New Zealand. This design showed promise in laboratory, fish, and field trials. However, despite interest, concerns over the release of plastic into the environment have inhibited its use. Therefore, we leveraged this experience to investigate new solutions with benefits similar to the installation of mussel spat rope (i.e., low-flow resting areas, cover, and minimal impact to culvert capacity) but that are made with bio-based sustainable materials. The goals of this project were to 1) identify appropriate materials and 2) design and test protypes in flume experiments. We have several viable prototype designs ready for field-scale testing and/or deployment made with a range of non-plastic materials.
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    Use of Mussel Spat Rope for Fish Passage in Culverts
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2018-03) Kozarek, Jessica; Hernick, Matthew
    Culverts can act as barriers to fish and aquatic organism passage by a number of mechanisms including insufficient water depth or excess velocity, perched culvert outlets, excess turbulence or behavioral barriers. In Minnesota, maintaining unimpeded fish passage is a concern due to our high-quality fisheries; however, much of the fish passage research in the United States has been conducted on the coasts with anadromous species. Many different methods have been used in Minnesota and nationally to facilitate passage including retrofitting existing culverts. In larger culverts, methods such as baffles or weirs have been installed to create resting areas for fish in culverts with high velocities, but these can be costly, difficult to install in tight culverts, can create maintenance issues, and may only be applicable to larger fish species. Recent research from New Zealand demonstrated the effectiveness of mussel spat rope in facilitating fish passage in steep, perched, or high-velocity culverts. The installation of these ropes in Minnesota box culverts was investigated as a low-cost, low-maintenance method to facilitate fish passage, specifically focusing on 1) the hydrodynamic performance of the ropes, 2) the use of these ropes by Minnesota fish species, and 3) evaluation of field installations in typical box culverts. This project used a combination of physical laboratory measurements on rope hydrodynamics, fish laboratory experiments on use of ropes, and two field demonstration sites. Ropes created low-velocity areas and cover that were utilized by small fish to navigate shallow flows over smooth boundaries.