Passage of Juvenile Chinook Salmon and other Fish Species through Archimedes Lifts and a Hidrostal Pump at Red Bluff, California

Abstract Fish were passed through two large Archimedes lifts and a large Hidrostal pump at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's experimental pumping plant on the upper Sacramento River, California. Two of the pumps were run concurrently during trials to compare their effects on hatchery-reared juvenile chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. In each trial, control samples were released at pump outfalls, and treatment samples were inserted into the intake of each pump. Fish in samples were collected in downstream holding tanks. In 27 trials comparing the two Archimedes lifts, mean survival for paired control and treatment groups was 98.3–99.0% for both lifts. Effects from pump passage were not detected for either lift at α = 0.05. In 40 trials comparing the Archimedes lifts and Hidrostal pump, mean survival for paired control and treatment groups was 96.5–99.5% for both pump types. Effects of passage through these small pumps were detected: 0.9% for the Archimedes lifts and 2.4% for the Hidrostal pump. To exa...