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FishFlow - Siphon Fish Ladder
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.
In the Netherlands large numbers of dams, weirs, and sluices, which contribute to the management of the water level, present barriers for migrating fish by blocking or restricting connections between adjacent water bodies. The FishFlow fish ladder is a facility that restores or improves the possibilities of upstream migration past such barriers.
The presence of this type of fish ladder offers upstream migrating fish the possibility to pass barriers at their own convenience by swimming against the gentle current at any time. The FishFlow fish ladder is suitable for all sizes of fish and is equipped with small slopes in front of each partition to enable bottom-dwelling fishes to pass the fish ladder as well.
The FishFlow siphon fish ladder is a flexible system that can be fit to serve as a passage for weir, dams, and dikes. The system can also be used to provide a migration route between tidal waters and inland waters.
The FishFlow siphon fish ladder has a number of advantages over conventional fish ladders:
- adjustable flow-rate
- low costs of construction
- low energy requirement
- flexible positioning
- no need to acquire lands
- maintenance friendly
- flexible design
- adjustable for integration in the landscape or decorative, or educational purposes
