Intake Screens for Fish Protection Applications

Intake screens from ISI have a long track record of enabling customers' water pumping and diversion applications to comply with the environmental requirements for fish-protection.

ISI's fish screens have achieved great successes and delivered outstanding fish protection,  while at the same time providing bottom line savings and reductions in energy and maintenance costs. A testament to this are the awards and accolades that ISI has received such as the 2004 Environmental Stewardship Award given by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

Our screens have enabled different types of customers to meet the stringent and evolving requirements for fish protection of intakes of diversion operations. Their designs, some of which is patented, minimize hydraulic impacts and providing bottom-line value that includes minimal downtimes, reduced maintenance, and lower energy costs.

ISI understands the requirements of the various regulations for fish screens and can design and implement a screening system so that the diversion can be permitted and in compliance.

ISI's screens can meet the following regulatory requirements:

This section of the Clean Water Act was enacted to reduce fish entrainment and impingement at power plant intakes. The three phases of the Rule apply to both new and existing cooling water intakes. The use of wedgewire passive screening technologies has been identified as a Best Technology Available (BTA) as one means to comply with these regulations. In some cases, wedgewirescreens may be the most cost effective option for compliance.

State Fish Screen Criteria

Many states, including California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho have Fish and Wildlife regulations that require screening of intakes to protect fish and aquatic organisms. Each state has various criteria based on screen approach velocity, screen opening size, site conditions, and operational criteria.

Federal and State agencies often require the use of intake screens tthat provide protection of threatened and endangered fish species from impingement and entrainment. The many rivers and estuaries which have been designated as critical habitat for such engangered species have such requirements. This poses challenges to diverters who have to draw water for use from these water bodies. These challenges can only be met with the use of intake screens that provide protection from 'incidental take' of such special-status fish species.

ISI provides you with reliable, innovative and proven customized fish screens that enable you to meet the very site and fish-species specific requirements for fish protection found at your water projects.

FERC – Hydropower requirements

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licenses thousands of hydro-power plants across the United States. When these licenses are coming up for renewal, fish screens are increasingly being specified to mitigate the possible impacts of the hydro turbines on fish species. ISI builds customized such screens that are designed to reduce the hydropower impacts for these hydro-power plants while providing protection for the specific fish species that are found in the waters.