New tech could support water quality requirements, fish protection in hydro projects

Shasta Dam California
Shasta Dam is a curved gravity concrete dam on the Sacramento River above Redding, Calif.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) recently announced $1 million in funding for River Connectivity Systems (RCS) to support the development of its environmental technology for hydropower facilities. This technology could support water quality requirements downstream from dams and provide a barrier to the movement of invasive fish species.

Currently, operators at hydropower facilities use several strategies to control water temperature and meet other water quality requirements immediately downstream from dams. For example, the controlled release of water can help maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems, protect fish populations, and ensure downstream water quality. 

As an alternative to existing strategies, RCS designed a low-cost technology that operators can adjust to release water from different depths in a reservoir depending on whether warmer or cooler water needs to be released downstream to meet environmental requirements. It also incorporates barriers for fish passage or exclusion to limit the movement of invasive species.

RCS proved the concept with numerical modeling in its Phase I award through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. RCS also identified a design and manufacturing strategy for its technology that uses commercial, off-the-shelf materials and is rapidly deployable. 

In its SBIR Phase III project, RCS plans to complete numerical and potentially physical modeling to inform a final system design and further explore manufacturing and constructability constraints. The company will also produce a model and detailed design to assess the costs, constraints, and feasibility of installing the technology at a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation dam.

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