Pacific Region Fish Health Program And Dworshak Fisheries Complex

COE Challenges at Dworshak Dam• Regional water management – connected system• Weather prediction• Flood control• Power generation• Cooling water• Dworshak Reservoir recreation• Dworshak NFH B steelhead• Natural fish impacts• Other COE priorities• Partner desires

Our Challenges at Dworshak NFHOld infrastructureComplicatedCritical hatchery for the Clearwater BasinHeavily Co-managed Limited Reservoir Water and System I onlyRiver WaterCan be routed to all ponds Loaded with fish pathogens

What is Gas Bubble?• Caused by ‘spill’ of water• Entrains gases in liquid; including blood• Harmful in fish – just like ‘the bends’ in humans• Can be removed through degassing

• Vacuum• Substrate• Oxygen injection

• Measured as Total Dissolved Gas (TDG)• 100% saturation or slightly lower best for fish• Oxygen level higher than 100% not a problem• Nitrogen is bad

• Gas Bubble Trauma makes fish vulnerable

What Can the Fish Do?

In the hatchery, depth compensation is limited

In the river, fish compensate with depth or leave area

Weberian Apparatus

Technology at WorkRiver Water Degassing Raceway LHO Treatment

2017…The Perfect Storm• Dworshak Dam

• Three turbines for power generation• Turbine 1 and 2 combined 5 kcfs when in use• Turbine 3 also 5 kcfs when in use

• No or limited gas entrainment through turbines• Extreme winter in ‘17

• Heavy snowpack – spill required• Wet spring with lots of rain – spill required

• Repair of Turbine 3 in 2016-2018• Unit 3 offline during repair – spill required• Delays by contractor-repair ongoing

Turbine 3 at Dworshak Dam down for maintenance

Higher than normal levels of snow/precipitation

2017 Conditions

Increased spill from Dworshak Dam

Gas supersaturation in the North Fork Clearwater River and Dworshak NFH

Gas bubbles in hatchery fish

COE Collaboration• COE installed vacuum degassers at Dworshak

NFH prior to turbine repair• COE installed TDG monitoring equipment at

the Hatchery• TMT agreed to reduced flow in NF during

Chinook releases• COE engineers visited DNFH to try and help• COE revised their fish transport contract and

provided drivers early to help move fish• A visit from LTC Delarosa to thank staff

Job Well Done! Adam suggested lowering

aeration chamber 1’ to create larger vacuum space

Idea worked: vacuum degassing performance improved a full 1%

LTC Delarosa thanked Adam with a COE Coin

Adam Izbicki: American Hero

Fish Health Monitoring• Based on Fish Passage Center Protocols and

Rankings• Examined Eyes, Gills, Lateral lines, Unpaired fins• Also noted levels of food in stomachs• Histology confirmation (GBT-caused cellular

damage)• Each species on station examined per written

plan (daily or every other day) until release

Raw Data

DateDischarge

(cfs)River

TDG %

Collection Channel %

TDG Time

(military)Barometric

Pressure n Gills Lat Line Fins Eyes

Low/No Food in

Stomach Total n Gills Lat Line Fins Eyes

Low/No Food in

Stomach03/02/17 12,500 119 102 700 no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data03/03/17 12,500 119 102 700 no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data no data03/04/17 13,900 120.6 103 1500 no data 10 4 0 0 0 0 4 10 3 0 0 0 003/05/17 14,600 122.3 104 1500 no data 10 2 0 0 0 0 2 10 0 0 0 0 003/06/17 15,600 122.4 104 1500 no data 10 4 0 0 0 0 4 10 3 0 0 0 003/07/17 16,500 122.2 104 700 no data 10 4 0 0 0 0 4 10 2 0 0 0 003/08/17 17,500 122.5 104 700 no data 10 5 6 0 0 0 11 10 1 0 0 0 003/09/17 18,500 123.2 105 700 no data 10 3 6 0 0 0 9 10 3 0 0 0 003/10/17 19,500 124.3 104.4 700 no data 20b 9 4 0 0 4 17 10 4 1 3 0 003/11/17 20,500 124.4 104.4 700 740.2 10 6 3 0 0 2 11 10 4 0 2 0 003/12/17 21,500 124.6 104.5 700 741.0 10 7 6 0 0 0 13 10 2 0 0 0 103/13/17 22,500 125.1 104.5 700 740.2 10 7 9 0 0 1 17 10 3 0 1 0 203/14/17 22,500 125.2 104.6 700 736.8 10 9 6 1 0 6 22 10 4 0 2 0 303/15/17 22,500 125.3 104.8 700 734.7 10 9 4 0 0 8 21 10 3 0 1 2 303/16/17 22,500 125.3 105.2 700 737.8 10 9 5 0 0 3 17 10 5 4 2 0 203/17/17 12,500 119.8 102.3 700 741.2 10 5 5 1 0 1 12 10 4 1 5 0 003/18/17 12,500 119.7 101.7 700 732.5 10 8 10 0 0 18 10 1 2 3 0 003/19/17 7,500 106.5 97.2 700 740.5 10 5 8 0 0 13 10 3 0 4 0 003/20/17 13,700 108.4 99 700 739.3 NA 10 1 0 2 0 1003/21/17 25,000 126.3 105.2 630 732 10 5 0 3 0 1003/22/17 25,000 105 10 3 3 6 0 1003/23/17

b Spring Chinook sampled (10 each) from Burrow's pond 82 and raceway A7.c Spring Chinook off feed beginning 3/18/17 in preparation of outplanting on 3/20/17.d Steelhead taken off feed in advance of outplanting/release.e From this date forward, all data as collected/reported by PRFHC - Idaho.

On 3/10/2017 Main aeration level lowered 12 inches to increase vacuum can space to increase degassing.

Total dissolved gas (%) in the North Fork Clearwater River and Dworshak National Fish Hatchery collection channel by date, discharge, time, and barometric pressure with concomitant number of fish, by species, exhibiting gas bubbles by anatomical structure.

Number of fish sampled and exhibiting gas bubbles by anatomical locationSpring Chinook Steelhead

Date and Environmental Conditions

ALL SPRING CHINOOK RELEASED

All steelhead in Systems 2 and 3 released. ALL STEELHEAD RELEASED OR MOVED TO SYSTEM 1

Gills

Lateral lines

Fins

Eyes

What Did We Do?• Intensive fish health monitoring• Negotiation with COE on spill weekly• Negotiation with partners on fish releases• Early on site release of all spring Chinook on March

20 into mainstem Clearwater• Early on site and off site release of some steelhead• Moved remaining steelhead into System 1 at same

time and added more reservoir water from CFH• On site release of remaining steelhead as planned

Teamwork• Dedicated DFC staff• Nez Perce Tribe help

• Truck and driver• Technicians• Program changes

• Idaho Fish and Game help• Additional reservoir water• Program changes

• Focused fish health monitoring• All fish released safely

TDG Dissipation In-River Gas levels dropped through mixing with Mainstem CR Also dropped with movement downstream Increased at each dam spilling during high flow spring Unknown impacts on adult returns

What Did We Learn?What is gas bubble trauma? More importantly, why does Margaret always catch me when I don’t pay for the social?Hmm…

Discharge from Dworshak DamSpring Chinook release

Percent TDG in North Fork Clearwater River Relative to Discharge

100

105

110

115

120

125

130

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000

Rive

r %TD

G

Discharge(cfs)

Percent TDG in Collection Channel Relative to % TDG in River

%TDG in River vs. in Hatchery

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

90

95

100

105

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115

120

125

130

03/0

2/17

03/0

3/17

03/0

4/17

03/0

5/17

03/0

6/17

03/0

7/17

03/0

8/17

03/0

9/17

03/1

0/17

03/1

1/17

03/1

2/17

03/1

3/17

03/1

4/17

03/1

5/17

03/1

6/17

03/1

7/17

03/1

8/17

03/1

9/17

03/2

0/17

03/2

1/17

Disc

harg

e CF

S

%TD

G

Date

North Fork %TDG

Collection Channel %TDG

Discharge CFS

Comparison of %TDG in North Fork Clearwater R. and the collection channel after degassing of spill from Dworshak Dam from 3/2/2017 to 3/21/2017

%TDG in River vs. Collection Channel vs. System 1

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

90

95

100

105

110

115

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125

130

Disc

harg

e CF

S

%TD

G

Date

North Fork %TDG

Collection Channel %TDG

System 1 Burrows Pond %TDG

Discharge CFS

%TDG in North Fork Clearwater R., the collection channel at Dworshak NFH, and a burrows pond in system 1 at Dworshak NFH compared to the discharge from Dworshak Dam from 3/2/2017 to 4/17/2017 on sampled days.

Vacuum Degassing Effectiveness

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

%TD

G R

educ

tion

Date

TDG reduction percentage after degassing at Dworshak NFH from 3/2/2017 to 3/21/2017

Spring Chinook - Raceways

GB signs relative to %TDG in collection channel, anatomical structure, and time of exposure

Steelhead - Systems 2 & 3

GB signs relative to % TDG in collection channel, anatomical structure, and time of exposure

Steelhead - System 1

GB signs relative to % TDG in system 1, anatomical feature, and time of exposure and at different reservoir/river water blends

20% 40% 53%%Res. Water

Summary• Vacuum degassers reduced river water gas saturation 9-

17%; but not enough to avoid gas bubbles over time• Vacuum degassers more effective at higher TDG levels• Strong correlation between exposure time and observed

effects in fish• At in-hatchery TDGs of 105% and above, feeding

behavior dropped sharply• No observed increase in mortality or secondary disease

outbreaks during this extended high saturation exposure• Once TDG levels lowered, gas bubbles did not necessarily

dissipate as quickly as reported in literature• Data not sufficient to establish a “safe” level of TDG

exposure for fish produced at DNFH• Vacuum degassers and LHO’s $$ well spent

Now What?• What about 2018 fish releases?• Adult returns?• Climate change?• Other Unknowns?• Questions?