FishFlow Innovations products

The FishFlow siphon fish ladder is based on the principle of a poorly functioning siphon; i.e. a siphon with an air bubble. This bubble is an essential element of the construction because the volume of the bubble defines the flowrate through the system. The siphon fish ladder is equipped with a vacuum pump that controls the volume of the air bubble to prevent change of flowrate due to import or export of gas from the water. An aeration valve is provided as a safety precaution to make sure that the siphon can not start running at its maximum flowrate in case the vacuum pump would malfunction and pump uninterruptedly. The water that is being siphoned consequentially flows over a conventional fish ladder to the downstream section of the river or stream.

The FishFlow eelladder is a fishladder that is specialised in providing migration opportunities to eel. The eelladder can be used to restore eel migration in areas where migration of other fish species is not desirable.

Screw pumps are utilised to draining low laying areas, such as the polders of Northwest Europe. A screw pump consists of a long worm wheel that is placed in a diagonal pipe or through, and creates upward displacement of water when driven. These pumps, also called Archimedian screws, have been in use for many centuries as applications are found in irrigation and draining purposes.

Axial pumps are the most commonly applied type of pump in the Dutch pumping stations. These pumps are used in a wide variety of pumping stations, from small pumps in ditches to the pum-ping station at IJmuiden, the largest pumping station of Europe. Although frequently applied, axial pumps are amongst the most dangerous pumps for migrating fishes, Especially small axial pumps are known to have very high mortality rates. Recently FishFlow Innovations has developed a fish-friendly axialpump in cooperation with Nijhuis Pompen.

Large quantities of surface waters are drawn for cooling systems by power plants and production of drinking water by waterworks. Fishes that are present in the water are drawn into the water intakes as well. Entry of fishes can result in clogging up of cleaning filters, which requires higher cleaning frequency. Passage of the filters by fishes can result in severe damage to the fishes in the turbines of power stations, or in entry in the purification basins of waterworks which puts pressure on the water quality.

Many industrial facilities extract water from lakes, rivers or coastal waters for cooling installations, hydropower or water supply. The entrainment of floating debris or fish can have adverse effects on industrial processes and cause fish mortality. The innovative rotary drum screen that has been developed by FishFlow Innovations effectively separates solid objects from the intake water. The unique characteristics of the drum screen make it possible to return fish unharmed to surface waters and reduce the costs for the processing of solid wastes.