Comparison of Survival of Fish Eggs and Larvae Via Collection and Transfer By Fine Mesh Traveling Screens Vs. through-Plant Entrainment Survival

ConEd’s East River Station is one of the first plants in the U.S. to comply with the §316(b) Rule for existing facilities via installation of fine mesh (FM) traveling screens for fish protection.  The issues that ConEd is facing since these screens were installed foretell potential issues that other plants in the U.S. may face in the future. This study will examine the relative benefits of fish protection using FM screens vs the survivability of entrained species and directly compare survival of fish and shellfish eggs, larvae and juvenile life stages that are entrained in a cooling water system with those that are collected by traveling water screens. Sampling will be conducted May through July 2016.  Results of this study should provide important information on the benefits of collection and transfer systems relative to plant passage. Results may indicate that FM screens provide little survival benefit or entrainment reduction.  Furthermore, elimination of the need for FM screens may also preclude potential occurrence of screen failures because of clogging by debris. 

This presentation will review the history of the installation, proposed testing protocol, preliminary results and the potential environmental and operational changes required to improve long term survival of entrainable species.