Culvert design for aquatic organism passage: an enviromental approach

Journal: Region - Water Conservancy DOI: 10.32629/rwc.v9i1.5140

Miguel Enrique  Blanco Chávez

Program for Environmental Research, National Studies and Services (PIENSA-UNI), Nicaragua

Abstract

The design of culverts at road and watercourse crossings, such as streams or rivers, has traditionally focused on the hydraulic safety requirements for the road. This approach to culvert design has neglected the biological elements of the watercourse, such as fish and other aquatic organisms, which are an essential part of the ecosystem and are disrupted by the physical barrier of the culvert. Furthermore, some physical factors are also altered, such as erosion and the deposition of sediments and debris, which also change the environmental conditions for fish, resulting in barriers that impede the natural development of their life cycle and endanger their reproduction. With an eye toward environmentally friendly design, concepts and guidelines have been developed for the design of culverts at road and watercourse crossings that facilitate the passage of aquatic organisms through the culvert, allowing them to move as they would in the natural watercourse. This paper presents some guidelines for the environmentally friendly design of culverts, which are addressed by Kilgore et al (2010), Schall et al. (2012), Bates and Kirn (2009), Henrik et al (2019), Kozarek and Mielke (2015), Olson et al (2017) and Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife (2016).

Keywords

rivers; culvert; fish passage; environment

References

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