Increasing protection for eels
The Lahn, a 245 km long tributary of the River Rhine, rises in the southeast of the Rothaar Mountains in the German State of Northrhine-Westphalia. The lower River Lahn is a federal waterway. The "LiLa Living Lahn" project aims to enhance the ecological health and connectivity of the river while simultaneously enriching the quality of life along the river and incorporating the various water uses. One project action focusses on eel-friendly turbine management, as eels are now threatened with extinction and protected EU-wide by further measures (EU Eel Regulation). CDM Smith, together with two partner consultants, is now developing a concept for an eel-friendly turbine management. Eel migration will be surveyed and analysed at ten hydropower stations over a period of five years using tagged eels and acoustic telemetry. Together with environmental and hydropower station data an early warning system will be developed for 40 river hydropower plants.
Hydropower operators shall be informed reliably and in time of upcoming eel migrations, so that they can initiate an eel-friendly operation of their facilities.
The aim of a modified turbine management is to ensure both safe downstream eel migration and climate-friendly hydropower generation. The project findings shall be transferable to other impounded rivers with eel stocks and thus have a positive influence beyond the Lahn region. The project, in which the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse are cooperating with the federal government, is funded by the EU.
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