Fish passage system in an irrigation dam (Pilcomayo River basin): When engineering designs do not match ecohydraulic criteria.

Abstract

The Route 28 Dam has the potential to block fish movements from La Estrella marsh to the Pilcomayo River. In addition, themany fish that concentrate immediately downstream of the dam may suffer high mortality when they are stranded duringlow water periods. The goals of this study are to determine if fish are able to pass the spillway and to assess if the designof the installed ladders (pool and weir type) effectively supports upstream migration of Prochilodus lineatus (sábalo).Results showed that only fish longer than 39 cm should be able to ascend the spillway chute, but when water levels on thespillway crest are over 0.4 m. Fish are also unable to jump from spillway toe to spillway crest because the downstreamdissipation pool does not meet the minimum depth criterion for fish to accelerate to sufficient velocity. Fish ladders haveinsufficient number of pools and some pool dimensions and designs depart from accepted standard designs. Volumetricdissipation power in the upper pool of each fish ladder is too low for fish to rest. Also, attraction flows relative to totalspillway discharge at the entrance to each fishway are insufficient. Fish passage failures of both the spillway and pool andweir systems in La Estrella marsh can be traced to the ?salmon-centric? concept used by the designers. We conclude thatthe Route 28 Dam design including its fish passage systems, do not follow criteria to cope with the strong hydrologicalvariability and bioecological characteristics of fish inhabiting pulsatile systems such as La Estrella marsh.