Impacts of hydropeaking: A systematic review.

Hydropower is commonly considered a renewable energy source. Nevertheless, this does not imply an absence of impacts on the riverine ecosystem, the extent of which is expected to increase in the coming years due to the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources and for the climate change. A common consequence of hydroelectric power generation is hydropeaking, which causes rapid and frequent fluctuations in the water flow downstream of hydropower plants.

A procedure for human safety assessment during hydropeaking events.

A method for human safety assessment on a hydropeaked river reach is proposed and applied to an Alpine river. The human safety analysis during hydropeaking events is of particular interest because most of the Alpine watercourses are affected by hydropower plant energy production that cause rapid and frequent flow alterations (hydropeaking), but at the same time these watercourses are used by the population for recreational purposes. In literature, many studies have focused on the effect of hydropeaking on the biota but a study of the interaction between a hydropeaking wave and human safety does not yet exist.

The role of 3D-hydraulics in habitat modelling of hydropeaking events.

One way to study ecological implications induced by hydropeaking represents the coupling of hydrodynamic models with habitat suitability models, in which hydrodynamic parameters are typically used to describe the physical habitat of indicator species. This article discusses the differences in habitat suitability assessment between 2D and 3D CFD modelling as input for the habitat simulation tool CASiMiR. In the first part of the article, the accuracy of the hydraulic model is evaluated by comparing the model results with laboratory (model of a laboratory channel with erodible bed) and field measurements (Valsura River, Bolzano, Italy).

Hydropeaking mitigation project on a multi-purpose hydro-scheme on Valsura River in South Tyrol/Italy.

A hydropeaking mitigation project on Valsura River in the Italians Alps is described. The project is of particular interest due to several aspects. First of all, the Valsura torrent has unique morphological braiding characteristics, which are unique in the reach of Adige valley between Merano and Bolzano, and has a good reproduction potential for fish, especially in the terminal stretch along a biotope before its confluence with Adige River.

Effects of artificial hypolimnetic oxygenation in a shallow lake. Part 1: phenomenological description and management.

Artificial oxygenation is a common management technique for lake restoration, but the use of hypolimnetic aeration in shallow basins can have dramatic effects on the dynamics of thermal stratification. This study presents the results of extensive field measurements performed in Lake Serraia (Trentino, Italy) after the installation of a Side Stream Pumping System, whereby oxygen-rich water is injected through 24 jets, uniformly distributed along an octagonal-shaped pipe at approximately 1 m above the sediment floor (10 m in depth). The lake is characterised by an average depth of 7 m, a volume of 3.