Analysis of factors influencing the impingement of threadfin shad (Dorosoma pretenense) at power plants in the southeastern United States

Abstract

Data on intake design and location, plant operating procedures, water quality, numbers of fish impinged, and sampling procedures were analyzed for 27 fossil-fueled and 5 nuclear power plants located on inland waters in the southeastern United States. Small (less than 9 cm) clupeids, especially threadfin shad (Dorosoma pretenense), comprised the majority of the fish impinged at these facilities. The parameter that was most strongly associated with shad impingement was water temperature. Maximum impingement rates occurred during the winter when intake temperatures dropped below 10/sup 0/C. Analyses of differences in impingement rates between plants failed to adequately demonstrate that the magnitude of impingement at a particular plant was the result of any site-specific characteristics associated with intake design or location. High approach velocities at the traveling screens did not necessarily result in high levels of impingement. Results obtained from inter-unit comparisons at several plants indicate that unit and screen differences do exist, but it is unclear from existing data whether or not such inter-unit differences determine the magnitude of impingement losses or merely affect the distribution of impinged fish at a given intake structure. Recommendations for monitoring fish impingement include the identification of impinged fish by species, collection of data on water temperatures and various plant operational parameters, periodic analyses of localized velocity regimes near the intake, and frequent estimates of the relative density of the fish population in the vicinity of the intake