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Assessment of Hydropower Sustainability in River Habitats and Aquatic Biota
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Assessment of Hydropower Sustainability in River Habitats and Aquatic Biota

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity and Functionality of Aquatic Ecosystems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 4619

Special Issue Editor

Dr. José Maria Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forest Research Centre, Associate Laboratory TERRA, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: freshwater fish; fish passage; hydropower; fish migration; connectivity; river restoration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydropower is the leading renewable energy source, contributing two-thirds of global electricity generation from all renewable sources combined. This renewable source has a large potential role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts, being integral to the EU’s target of achieving at least 32 per cent of energy being from renewables by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050, as foreseen in the European Green Deal. Thus, hydropower can directly contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7: “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all”.

However, hydropower projects and the associated infrastructures have been outlined as emerging environmental threats to riverine ecosystems, causing severe declines in vertebrate populations, with a particular impact on migratory fish and their natural habitats, as a result of river fragmentation, the blockage of migratory routes, drifting, stranding, and the modification of natural flow and thermal regimes. Therefore, guaranteeing environmental hydropower sustainability requires an in-depth assessment of all these issues, taking into account that global warming will further stimulate conflicts in water use in a way that disturbs riverine ecosystems.

Science-based knowledge regarding the solutions necessary to counteract the environmental impacts of hydropower, and melding principles of aquatic ecology and engineering hydraulics, is thus urgently needed to assure hydropower sustainability.

This Special Issue aims to compile novel information on fundamental research and applications regarding the hydropower sustainability of river habitats and aquatic biota. Authors may contribute submissions that range from field studies to mesocosms and laboratory experiments that have application to real-world challenges.

Dr. José Maria Santos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • small-scale/large-scale hydropower
  • run-of-river/pumped storage hydropower
  • hydropeaking
  • habitat use and modelling
  • physical and behavioural barriers
  • fish passage and migration
  • environmental flows
  • fish-friendly turbines
  • optimization of hydropower design and operations
  • riparian vegetation management
  • hydropower and interaction with other stressors

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 7178 KiB  
Article
Assessing Zebra Mussels’ Impact on Fishway Efficiency: McNary Lock and Dam Case Study
by Avery Schemmel, David L. Smith, Marcela Politano, Damian Walter and Jeremy Crossland
Water 2024, 16(12), 1671; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16121671 - 12 Jun 2024
Viewed by 668
Abstract
The Columbia River Basin faces a threat from the potential invasion of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), notorious for their ability to attach to various substrates, including concrete, which is common in fishway construction. Extensive mussel colonization within fishways may affect fish [...] Read more.
The Columbia River Basin faces a threat from the potential invasion of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), notorious for their ability to attach to various substrates, including concrete, which is common in fishway construction. Extensive mussel colonization within fishways may affect fish passage by altering flow patterns or creating physical barriers, leading to increased travel times, or potentially preventing passage altogether. Many factors affect mussel habitat suitability including vectors of dispersal, water parameters, and various hydrodynamic quantities, such as water depth, velocity, and turbulence. The objective of this study is to assess the potential for zebra mussels to attach to fishway surfaces and form colonies in the McNary Lock and Dam Oregon-shore fishway and evaluate the potential impact of this infestation on the fishway’s efficiency. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the McNary Oregon-shore fishway was developed using the open-source code OpenFOAM, with the two-phase solver interFoam. Mesh quality is critical to obtain a reliable solution, so the numerical mesh was refined near the free surface and all solid surfaces to properly capture the complex flow patterns and free surface location. The simulation results for the 6-year average flow rate showed good agreement with the measured water column depth over each weir. Regions susceptible to mussel infestation were identified, and an analysis was performed to determine the mussel’s preference to colonize as a function of the depth-averaged velocity, water depth, and wall shear stress. Habitat suitability criteria were applied to the output of the hydraulic variables from the CFD solution and provided insight into the potential impact on the fishway efficiency. Details on the mesh construction, model setup, and numerical results are presented and discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Hydropower Sustainability in River Habitats and Aquatic Biota)
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30 pages, 11077 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Impacts of Changing Connectivity of Hydropower Dams on the Distribution of Fish Species in the 3S Rivers, a Tributary of the Lower Mekong
by Peter-John Meynell, Marc J. Metzger and Neil Stuart
Water 2024, 16(11), 1505; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16111505 - 24 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1247
Abstract
Hydropower plants (HPPs) create barriers across rivers and fragment aquatic ecosystems, river reaches and habitats. The reservoirs they create slow the flowing water and convert the riverine into lacustrine ecosystems. The barriers created by HPPs interrupt the seasonal migrations of many fish species, [...] Read more.
Hydropower plants (HPPs) create barriers across rivers and fragment aquatic ecosystems, river reaches and habitats. The reservoirs they create slow the flowing water and convert the riverine into lacustrine ecosystems. The barriers created by HPPs interrupt the seasonal migrations of many fish species, while the reservoirs drive away fish species that are dependent on flowing water habitats. This paper assesses the distribution of fish species in the 3S rivers—Sekong, Sesan and Sre Pok, in Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam—using IUCN Red List-assessed species distribution by HydroBasin Level 8 from the freshwater reports of the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) and their connectivity with the Mekong. There are currently 61 commissioned dams in the 3S basins and a further 2 under construction, 23 of which are larger than the 30 MW installed capacity. A further 24 HPPs are proposed or planned in these basins. The changes in connectivity caused by the dams are measured by adapting the River Class Connectivity Index (RCICLASS); the original connectivity of the 3S basin taking into account the two major waterfalls in the Sesan and Sre Pok rivers was estimated at 80.9%. With existing dams, the connectivity has been reduced to 23.5%, and with all planned dams, it is reduced further to 10.9%. The resulting re-distribution of fish species occurring throughout the 3S basins is explored, by focusing on migratory guilds and threatened and endemic fish species. With all dams built, it is predicted that the total numbers of species in HydroBasins above the dams will be reduced by 40–50%. The Threatened Species Index is estimated to fall from over 30 near the confluence of the three rivers to less than 10 above the lowest dams on the 3S rivers. The analysis demonstrates how widely available global and regional datasets can be used to assess the impacts of dams on fish biodiversity in this region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Hydropower Sustainability in River Habitats and Aquatic Biota)
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21 pages, 2705 KiB  
Article
Seasonal and Size-Related Fish Microhabitat Use Upstream and Downstream from Small Hydropower Plants
by José M. Santos, Renan Leite, Maria J. Costa, Francisco Godinho, Maria M. Portela, António N. Pinheiro and Isabel Boavida
Water 2024, 16(1), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16010037 - 21 Dec 2023
Viewed by 2081
Abstract
Hydropower can have significant impacts on riverine ecosystems due to hydropeaking (i.e., artificial rapid and short-term fluctuations in water flow and water levels downstream and upstream of hydropower stations) that negatively affect downstream fish. However, when it comes to analyzing species habitat use [...] Read more.
Hydropower can have significant impacts on riverine ecosystems due to hydropeaking (i.e., artificial rapid and short-term fluctuations in water flow and water levels downstream and upstream of hydropower stations) that negatively affect downstream fish. However, when it comes to analyzing species habitat use and availability above and below small hydropower plants (SHPPs), studies conducted at the microhabitat scale are scarcer, particularly in Mediterranean rivers. The goal of this study is to assess the seasonal (early and late summer) and size-related (juveniles and adults) microhabitat use by native fish above and below SHPPs. Fish were sampled by a modified point electrofishing procedure, and a multivariate approach was used to analyze microhabitat use and availability data from sites located upstream (reference) and downstream (disturbed) from two SHPPs in northeast Portugal. Cover and water depth were the most influential variables in the use of microhabitat for all species at both the reference and disturbed sites, although some differences in the variable rankings were found. Leuciscids exhibited similar patterns of non-random (i.e., selective) microhabitat use between the reference and the disturbed sites. Overall, the seasonal and size-related patterns in species microhabitat use were similar, with the majority of species displaying seasonal patterns in microhabitat use from early summer to late summer. This study showed that differences in fish microhabitat use between downstream SHPP and upstream reference sites were negligible. Cover might have had a significant role in tempering the effects of detrimental environmental conditions, namely, peaking flows, by providing hydraulic shelter, highlighting the need to maintain riparian vegetation strips and mosaics of submerged aquatic macrophytes, as well as the provision of coarse substrata that can be critical for fish. Future studies are needed to better clarify how different size classes of fish select microhabitats when facing past and present hydropeaking conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment of Hydropower Sustainability in River Habitats and Aquatic Biota)
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