Hydraulics of the vertical slot fishway, a case study on the Vianney-Legendre fishway in Quebec, Canada

To follow is a case study on the hydraulics of the Vianney-Legendre vertical slot fishway on the Richelieu River in southwestern Quebec, Canada. This fishway is made up of three segments of linearly connected regular pools connected via two turning pools. It is known to pass multiple species of fish and is one of few worldwide to have documentation of successful passage of a species of sturgeon (lake sturgeons Acipenser fulvescens). The overall hydraulics of the fishway are characterized through field study and numerical modelling. A lack of hydraulic understanding coupled with recent links to high rates of fish passage failures are cause for study of turning pools. Consequently, numerical modeling is used to assess the hydraulic characteristics of seven turning pool design alternatives. It is hoped the results emanating from this study will act as reference to future fishway designs aimed at passing multiple species of fish.