These passage tests with American eel (Anguilla rostrata) were conducted with PNNL at Natel's hydraulic test facility in Alameda, CA. These tests were designed to evaluate both the immediate and 48-hour survival rate of American eel passing through a Natel Restoration Hydro Turbine (RHT). We also documented sublethal and behavioral effects of eel passage through the RHT operating under the most extreme conditions (maximum velocities, largest eel size relative to turbine).

A subset of these eels were also passed through the turbine a second time, simulating the repeat passage events that would occur on a river with multiple hydropower installations.

We successfully captured high-speed video of 89% of passage events, which revealed an absence of pinching or laceration injury risk within the turbine. This work is summarized in a journal article published by the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society in August of 2022.

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